buzzard Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a New World vulture that is common in South America and Central America and the southern United States
Cathartes aura; turkey buzzard; turkey vulture.
noun the common European short-winged hawk
Buteo buteo.

O.E. busard, bosard, F. busard, fr. buse, L. buteo, a kind of falcon or hawk.

(Zoöl.) A bird of prey of the Hawk family, belonging to the genus Buteo and related genera. ✍ The Buteo vulgaris is the common buzzard of Europe. The American species (of which the most common are B. borealis, B. Pennsylvanicus, and B. lineatus) are usually called hen hawks. -- The rough-legged buzzard, or bee hawk, of Europe (Pernis apivorus) feeds on bees and their larvæ, with other insects, and reptiles. -- The moor buzzard of Europe is Circus æruginosus. See Turkey buzzard, and Carrion buzzard.
A blockhead; a dunce.
It is common, to a proverb, to call one who can not be taught, or who continues obstinately ignorant, a buzzard. Goldsmith.