woodpecker

noun

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

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.”

   “His skin was scarlet like the head of the green woodpecker.”

2. A Type 92 heavy machine gun.