Sandpiper \Sand"pi`per\, n.
   1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of small limicoline
      game birds belonging to {Tringa}, {Actodromas},
      {Ereunetes}, and various allied genera of the family
      {Tringidae}.
      
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   Note: The most important North American species are the
         pectoral sandpiper ({Tringa maculata}), called also
         {brownback}, {grass snipe}, and {jacksnipe}; the
         red-backed, or black-breasted, sandpiper, or dunlin
         ({Tringa alpina}); the purple sandpiper ({Tringa  maritima}: the red-breasted sandpiper, or knot ({Tringa  canutus}); the semipalmated sandpiper ({Ereunetes  pusillus}); the spotted sandpiper, or teeter-tail
         ({Actitis macularia}); the buff-breasted sandpiper
         ({Tryngites subruficollis}), and the Bartramian
         sandpiper, or upland plover. See under {Upland}. Among
         the European species are the dunlin, the knot, the
         ruff, the sanderling, and the common sandpiper
         ({Actitis hypoleucus} syn. {Tringoides hypoleucus}),
         called also {fiddler}, {peeper}, {pleeps}, {weet-weet},
         and {summer snipe}. Some of the small plovers and
         tattlers are also called sandpipers.
         
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   2. (Zool.) A small lamprey eel; the pride.
      
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   {Curlew sandpiper}. See under {Curlew}.

   {Stilt sandpiper}. See under {Stilt}.
      
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Snipe \Snipe\, n. [OE. snipe; akin to D. snep, snip, LG. sneppe,
   snippe, G. schnepfe, Icel. sn[imac]pa (in comp.), Dan.
   sneppe, Sw. sn[aum]ppa a sanpiper, and possibly to E. snap.
   See {Snap}, {Snaffle}.]
   1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of limicoline game
      birds of the family {Scolopacidae}, having a long,
      slender, nearly straight beak.
      
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   Note: The common, or whole, snipe ({Gallinago coelestis})
         and the great, or double, snipe ({Gallinago major}),
         are the most important European species. The Wilson's
         snipe ({Gallinago delicata}) (sometimes erroneously
         called {English snipe}) and the gray snipe, or
         dowitcher ({Macrohamphus griseus}), are well-known
         American species.
         
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   2. A fool; a blockhead. [R.] --Shak.
      
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   {Half snipe}, the dunlin; the jacksnipe.

   {Jack snipe}. See {Jacksnipe}.

   {Quail snipe}. See under {Quail}.

   {Robin snipe}, the knot.

   {Sea snipe}. See in the Vocabulary.

   {Shore snipe}, any sandpiper.

   {Snipe hawk}, the marsh harrier. [Prov. Eng.]

   {Stone snipe}, the tattler.

   {Summer snipe}, the dunlin; the green and the common European
      sandpipers.

   {Winter snipe}. See {Rock snipe}, under {Rock}.

   {Woodcock snipe}, the great snipe.
      
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Summer \Sum"mer\, n. [OE. sumer, somer, AS. sumor, sumer; akin
   to OFries. sumur, D. zomer, OS. sumar, G. sommer, OHG. &
   Icel. sumar, Dan. sommer, Sw. sommar, W. haf, Zend hama, Skr.
   sam[=a] year. [root]292.]
   The season of the year in which the sun shines most directly
   upon any region; the warmest period of the year.
   
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   Note: North of the equator summer is popularly taken to
         include the months of June, July, and August.
         Astronomically it may be considered, in the northern
         hemisphere, to begin with the summer solstice, about
         June 21st, and to end with the autumnal equinox, about
         September 22d.
         
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   {Indian summer}, in North America, a period of warm weather
      late in autumn, usually characterized by a clear sky, and
      by a hazy or smoky appearance of the atmosphere,
      especially near the horizon. The name is derived probably
      from the custom of the Indians of using this time in
      preparation for winter by laying in stores of food.

   {Saint Martins summer}. See under {Saint}.

   {Summer bird} (Zool.), the wryneck. [Prov. Eng.]

   {Summer colt}, the undulating state of the air near the
      surface of the ground when heated. [Eng.]

   {Summer complaint} (Med.), a popular term for any diarrheal
      disorder occurring in summer, especially when produced by
      heat and indigestion.

   {Summer coot} (Zool.), the American gallinule. [Local, U.S.]
      

   {Summer cypress} (Bot.), an annual plant ({Kochia Scoparia})
      of the Goosefoot family. It has narrow, ciliate, crowded
      leaves, and is sometimes seen in gardens.

   {Summer duck}. (Zool.)
   (a) The wood duck.
   (b) The garganey, or summer teal. See Illust. of {Wood duck},
       under {Wood}.

   {Summer fallow}, land uncropped and plowed, etc., during the
      summer, in order to pulverize the soil and kill the weeds.
      

   {Summer rash} (Med.), prickly heat. See under {Prickly}.

   {Summer sheldrake} (Zool.), the hooded merganser. [Local,
      U.S.]

   {Summer snipe}. (Zool.)
   (a) The dunlin.
   (b) The common European sandpiper.
   (c) The green sandpiper.

   {Summer tanager} (Zool.), a singing bird ({Piranga rubra})
      native of the Middle and Southern United States. The male
      is deep red, the female is yellowish olive above and
      yellow beneath. Called also {summer redbird}.

   {Summer teal} (Zool.), the blue-winged teal. [Local, U.S.]

   {Summer wheat}, wheat that is sown in the spring, and matures
      during the summer following. See {Spring wheat}.

   {Summer yellowbird}. (Zool.) See {Yellowbird}.
      
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