The Collaborative International Dictionary
Corvus monedula
Daw \Daw\ (d[add]), n. [OE. dawe; akin to OHG. t[=a]ha, MHG. t[=a]he, t[=a]hele, G. dohle. Cf. Caddow.] (Zo["o]l.) A European bird of the Crow family ( Corvus monedula), often nesting in church towers and ruins; a jackdaw.
The loud daw, his throat
displaying, draws
The whole assembly of his fellow daws.
--Waller.
Note: The daw was reckoned as a silly bird, and a daw meant a
simpleton. See in Shakespeare: -- ``Then thou dwellest
with daws too.'' (
--Coriolanus iv. 5, 1. 47.)
--Skeat.