or|to|lan

or|to|lan «AWR tuh luhn», noun.

1. a small bunting of Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, the meat of which is regarded as a delicacy: »

Let me die eating ortolans to the sound of soft music (Benjamin Disraeli).

2. any one of various small wild birds of North America, such as the bobolink and the sora.

╂[< French ortolan (literally) gardener < Provençal < Latin hortulānus of gardens < hortulus (diminutive) < hortus garden]