Dictionary
bit•tern
Pronunciation: (bit'urn), [key]—
n.
1. any of several tawny brown herons that inhabit reedy marshes, as
Botaurus lentiginosus (American bittern), of North America, and
B. stellaris, of Europe.
2. any of several small herons of the genus
Ixobrychus, as
I. exilis (least bittern), of temperate and tropical North and South America.
bit•tern
Pronunciation: (bit'urn), [key]—
n. Chem.
a bitter solution remaining in salt making after the salt has crystallized out of seawater or brine, used as a source of bromides, iodides, and certain other salts.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.