pirr-maw
(ˈpɜːmɔː)
Also 8–9 pyr-, 9 purre-.
[f. pirr n.2 + maw n.3]
A local name of the Common Tern (Sterna fluviatilis) and of the Roseate Tern (S. dougalli).
| 1744 C. Smith County Down 131 Sea Fowl, as the Gull and Pyrmaw, who build in the Rocks. 1880 Antrim & Down Gloss., Pirre-maw, the tern. Ibid., Pyrmaw, a sea bird, probably the tern or ‘purre’. 1885 Swainson Prov. Names Brit. Birds 203 Roseate tern,..Purre maw (Carrickfergus). From their hoarse cry. |