In ornithology, describing birds with a long, pointed, and slightly curved bill or beak.
From Latin 'culter' (knife) plus 'rostralis' (relating to a beak/rostrum). Literally means 'knife-beaked,' used by ornithologists to classify birds with distinctive long, sharp beaks.
Ornithologists looked at certain bird beaks and thought 'those are like little knives'—so they borrowed the Latin knife-word 'culter' to create this beautifully precise term for long, sharp beaks!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.