woodpecker

Etymology

From wood + pecker. Compare Middle English wod spek (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodehake (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodewale (“woodpecker”).

noun

  1. Any bird of species-rich family Picidae, with a strong pointed beak suitable for pecking holes in wood.
    On its summit towered aloft the fir tree which has often been referred to, like a mighty mast, full of woodpeckers' holes. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 89
  2. (military slang) Type 92 heavy machine gun

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