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e·gret (ēgrĭt, ĕgrĭt)
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n.
Any of several usually white herons of the genera Ardea, Bubulcus, and Egretta, characteristically having long, showy plumes during the breeding season.
[Middle English, from Old French aigrette, from Old Provençal aigreta, from aigron, heron, of Germanic origin.]
(click for a larger image)
egret
cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis, in breeding plumage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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