Dictionary:

pigeon¹

  (pĭj'ən)

1. Any of various birds of the widely distributed family Columbidae, characteristically having plump bodies, small heads, and short legs, especially the rock dove or any of its domesticated varieties.
2. Slang. One who is easily swindled; a dupe.

[Middle English, from Old French pijon, probably from Vulgar Latin *pībiō, pībiōn-, alteration of Late Latin pīpiō, young chirping bird, squab, from pīpīre, to chirp.]

An object of special concern; an affair or matter.

[Alteration of PIDGIN.]

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Game bird, Columbia livia; young about 4 weeks old is a squab. A 150-g portion is an extremely rich source of iron, a rich source of protein, niacin, and vitamins B₁ and B₂; contains 20 g of fat; supplies 350 kcal (1500 kJ).

noun

A person who is easily deceived or victimized: butt³, dupe, fool, gull, lamb, pushover, victim. Informal sucker. Slang fall guy, gudgeon, mark, monkey, patsy, sap¹. Chiefly British mug. See wise/foolish.

n. slang an aircraft from one's own side.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

For more information on pigeon, visit Britannica.com.

Often connected with illness and death in English folklore. Beliefs regarded a pigeon alighting on a bed, or even on a house, as a sign of at least sickness, and sometimes death, and there is a tradition that a sick person asking for a pigeon must be near death as ‘that is almost the last thing they want’. Numerous references from the 17th century onwards concern the use of pigeons in medical, often near-death, contexts. It was commonly believed that a live pigeon, cut in half, and applied to a sick person's body, would draw out a fever or sickness. Samuel Pepys' Diary, for example, twice mentions this procedure: ‘they did lay pigeons to his feet while I was in the house; and all despair of him…’ (21 Jan. 1668). Similarly, application of a pigeon would draw out adder poison. A saying that ‘He who is sprinkled with pigeon's blood will never die a natural death’ has a legend to support it. When Charles I was receiving a new bust of himself, sculpted by Bernini, a pigeon flying overhead was attacked by a hawk, and the pigeon's blood fell on the bust, staining it red round the neck—a stain that could never be removed. In other versions (such as Aubrey, 1696) it is a different or unnamed bird (N&Q 7s:8 (1889), 468; 7s:9 (1890), 13-14, 77). See also adders, feathers.

Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.

• Black, 1883: 163-4
• Opie and Tatem, 1989: 308-9
• N&Q 151 (1926), 136
• Roud, 2003: 358-61

A member of the family Columbidae which also includes the doves. The domestic pigeons are generally gray, medium-sized birds which exist in a large number of breeds and races including Romans, Jacobins, tumblers, fantails, pouters, carrier pigeons and turtle-doves.

• p. berry — phytolacca americana.
• p. breast — deep-seated abscesses in the pectoral muscles of horses. Called also pectoral abscess.
• p.-breeder's lung — see bird-fancier's lung.
• carrier p. — pigeon with strong homing instincts used to carry messages over relatively long distances. Produced by breeding and selection between races of domestic pigeons. See also homing pigeon (below).
• p. circovirus — the cause of lethargy, respiratory and gastrointestinal signs and poor racing performance in young pigeons.
• p. fly — a member of the parasitic fly family Hippoboscidae or louse fly and an important parasite of domestic pigeon. Called also Pseudolynchia canariensis.
• p. grass — panicum whitei, setaria spp.
• p. herpesvirus — the cause of respiratory disease (coryza) in domestic pigeons.
• homing p. — pigeon with strong homing instincts used in racing and as a carrier pigeon (above). Produced by breeding and selection between races of domestic pigeon.
• p. pox — see pigeonpox.
• slender (small) p. louse — columbicola columbae.
• p. strongyle — ornithostrongylus quadriradiatus.
• p. toed — a condition in which the toes are turned inwards.

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - due, lerdue, godtroende fjols

idioms:

• pigeon breast    duebryst
• pigeon chest    kyllingebryst
• pigeon fancier    opdrætter af brevduer
• put the cat among the pigeons    sætte ræven til at vogte hønsene

2.
n. - gammeldags stavning af pidgin (kineserengelsk), ansvarsområde

idioms:

• not my pigeon    ikke min sag

Nederlands (Dutch)
(klei)duif, sul, pidgin, grietje

Français (French)
1.
n. - pigeon

idioms:

• pigeon breast    poitrine bombée
• pigeon chest    poitrine bombée
• pigeon fancier    colombophile
• put the cat among the pigeons    faire des vagues

2.
n. - pidgin (arch), charge particulière (de qn)

idioms:

• not my pigeon    (ce n'est pas) mon affaire

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Taube

idioms:

• pigeon breast    (Med.) Hühnerbrust
• pigeon chest    (Med.) Hühnerbrust
• pigeon fancier    Taubenfreund
• put the cat among the pigeons    für Aufregung sorgen

2.
n. - Angelegenheit, Sache, nicht meine Sache

idioms:

• not my pigeon    nicht mein Bier

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - περιστέρι, (μτφ.) κορόιδο, θύμα

idioms:

• not my pigeon    δεν είναι δουλειά μου!
• pigeon breast    δυσπλασία του θώρακα
• pigeon chest    δυσπλασία του θώρακα
• pigeon fancier    εκτροφέας περιστεριών επιδείξεως
• put the cat among the pigeons    βάζω το λύκο να φυλάξει τα πρόβατα

Italiano (Italian)
piccione

idioms:

• not my pigeon    non è affar mio
• pigeon breast/chest    petto sporgente
• pigeon fancier    allevatore di piccioni
• put the cat among the pigeons    mettere una volpe nel pollaio

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pombo (m), trouxa (f)

idioms:

• not my pigeon    nada a ver comigo
• pigeon breast/chest    peito de pombo
• pigeon fancier    criador de pombos
• put the cat among the pigeons    colocar o lobo no meio das ovelhas

Русский (Russian)
голубь, неудачный игрок

idioms:

• not my pigeon    не мое дело
• pigeon breast/chest    грудь колесом, килевидная грудная клетка
• pigeon fancier    любитель голубей
• put the cat among the pigeons    все расстроить

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - paloma, pichón

idioms:

• pigeon breast    pecho de pichón
• pigeon chest    pecho de pichón
• pigeon fancier    colombófilo
• put the cat among the pigeons    meter los perros en danza, meter la zorra en el gallinero

2.
n. - asunto del que uno es responsable, inglés hablado por chinos

idioms:

• not my pigeon    no es asunto mío

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - duva, dumbom

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
鸽子

idioms:

• not my pigeon    不是我关心的人或事物
• pigeon breast    鸡胸
• pigeon chest    鸡胸
• pigeon fancier    养鸽行家
• put the cat among the pigeons    引起麻烦

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 鴿子

idioms:

• not my pigeon    不是我關心的人或事物
• pigeon breast    雞胸
• pigeon chest    雞胸
• pigeon fancier    養鴿行家
• put the cat among the pigeons    引起麻煩

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 비둘기 , 잘 속는 사람, 젊은 처녀

idioms:

• put the cat among the pigeons    (비밀로 할 일을 털어놓거나 해서) 파란을 일으키다, 속여서 빼앗다

2.
n. - 혼성어(의사 소통 보조어), 일

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ハト, ハトの肉, クレー

idioms:

• pigeon breast/chest    鳩胸
• pigeon fancier    鳩を飼育している人

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حمامه, يمام, قمري, شخص يسهل خداعه, ساذج‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮יונה, פתי, טיפש‬
n. - ‮איות מיושן של המילה NIGDIP, תחום האחריות או העיסוק של אדם‬

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