martin

a bird that resembles and is closely related to the swallow

Not to be confused with:

marten – a carnivore of the genus Martes of northern wooded areas

mar·tin

(mär′tn)

Any of various swallows, such as the house martin or the purple martin.

[Middle English martoune, probably from the name Martin.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

martin

(ˈmɑːtɪn)

(Animals) any of various swallows of the genera Progne, Delichon, Riparia, etc, having a square or slightly forked tail. See also house martin

[C15: perhaps from St Martin, because the birds were believed to migrate at the time of Martinmas]

Martin

(ˈmɑːtɪn)

1. (Biography) Archer John Porter. 1910–2002, British biochemist; Nobel prize for chemistry 1952 (with Richard Synge; 1914–94) for developing paper chromatography (1944). He subsequently developed gas chromatography (1953)

2. (Biography) Chris(topher Anthony John). born 1977, English rock musician; lead singer of Coldplay

3. (Biography) Frank. 1890–1974, Swiss composer. He used a modified form of the twelve-note technique in some of his works, which include Petite Symphonie Concertante (1946) and the oratorio Golgotha (1949)

4. (Biography) Sir George (Henry). born 1926, British record producer and arranger, noted for his work with the Beatles

5. (Biography) John. 1789–1854, British painter, noted for his visionary landscapes and large-scale works with biblical subjects

6. (Biography) Michael (John). Baron. born 1945, Scottish Labour politician; speaker of the House of Commons (2000–09)

7. (Biography) Paul (Edgar Philippe). born 1938, Canadian Liberal politician; prime minister of Canada (2003–06)

8. (Biography) Saint. called Saint Martin of Tours. ?316–?397 ad, bishop of Tours (?371–?397); a patron saint of France. He furthered monasticism in Gaul. Feast day: Nov 11 or 12

9. (Biography) Steve(n). born 1945, US film actor and comedian; his films include The Jerk (1979), Roxanne (1987), and Bowfinger) (1999)

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mar•tin

(ˈmɑr tn)

n.

any of various swallows having a wedge-shaped or notched tail.

[1425–75; presumably generic use of the personal name traditionally by association with March (Latin Mārtius), when the bird arrives, and Martinmas, when it leaves]

Mar•tin

(ˈmɑr tn)

n.

1. Archer John Porter, born 1910, English biochemist: Nobel prize 1952..

2. Homer Dodge, 1836–97, U.S. painter.

3. Saint, A.D. 316?–397, French prelate: bishop of Tours 370?–397.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	Martin - French bishop who is a patron saint of France (died in 397) St. Martin
	2.	Martin - United States actor and comedian (born in 1945) Steve Martin
	3.	Martin - United States actress (1913-1990) Mary Martin
	4.	Martin - United States singer (1917-1995) Dean Martin, Dino Paul Crocetti
	5.	martin - any of various swallows with squarish or slightly forked tail and long pointed wings; migrate around Martinmas swallow - small long-winged songbird noted for swift graceful flight and the regularity of its migrations Delichon urbica, house martin - common small European martin that builds nests under the eaves of houses bank martin, bank swallow, Riparia riparia, sand martin - swallow of the northern hemisphere that nests in tunnels dug in clay or sand banks Progne subis, purple martin - large North American martin of which the male is blue-black

Translations

Martin

MartinMorten

MartinSchwalbe

avión Martín

Martti

Martin

Marteinn

balestruccio Martino

Martinus

MartinMorten

Marcin

Мартин Мартын

MårtenMartin

Martin

[ˈmɑːtɪn] N → Martín

martin

[ˈmɑːtɪn] N → avión m, vencejo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

martin

[ˈmɑː^rtɪn] n (also house martin) → martinet m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

martin

n → Schwalbe f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

martin

[ˈmɑːtɪn] n (bird) (also house martin) → balestruccio
sand martin → topino

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Once upon a time there lived an old couple who had one son called Martin. Now when the old man's time had come, he stretched himself out on his bed and died.

'Leave off beating him,' said Martin, 'and sell him to me instead.'

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"Ma," she shouted suddenly, in her shrill, strident treble, "I see Martin comin'."

Martin and Nellie sat down beside the red-and-white-checkered cloth spread on the ground, and Wade, after passing the still fretting baby to his wife, took his place with them.

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The effect that Keggs, the butler at the Keiths', had on Martin Rossiter was to make him feel as if he had been caught laughing in a cathedral.

The house-party at the Keiths had originally been, from Martin's view-point, almost ideal.

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About six weeks after the beginning of the half, as Tom and Arthur were sitting one night before supper beginning their verses, Arthur suddenly stopped, and looked up, and said, "Tom, do you know anything of Martin?"

'East,' says he, 'just come and show me Martin's study.' 'Oh, here's a game,' whispered the rest of us; and we all cut upstairs after the Doctor, East leading.

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Once or twice in the month, while riding through the park on his way to the library, Martin dismounted from his wheel and listened to the arguments, and each time he tore himself away reluctantly.

Martin had heard Herbert Spencer quoted several times in the park, but one afternoon a disciple of Spencer's appeared, a seedy tramp with a dirty coat buttoned tightly at the throat to conceal the absence of a shirt.

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Martin, who bore a part in the narrative, and was always mentioned with approbation for his great goodnature in doing something or other, was a single man; that there was no young Mrs.

Martin, I suppose, is not a man of information beyond the line of his own business?

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