whippoorwill (English)
Where does "whippoorwill" come from?
The English noun 'whippoorwill' has an onomatopoeic origin, formed as an echoic imitation of the bird's distinctive call[1]. English speakers interpreted the nocturnal nightjar's repetitive vocalization as sounding like the phrase 'whip poor Will', which gave the species its popular name.
Sources
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris