1. a small dove with a soft cooing call, typically having brown and gray plumage
2. a term of endearment for a beloved person
Usage: literary; archaic

Examples

• The turtledove perched on the garden fence and cooed softly.
• A pair of turtledoves nested in the old oak tree.
• We could hear the gentle call of turtledoves in the morning.
• The turtledove is known for its distinctive purring sound.
• In the poem, he called his beloved his turtledove.
• Turtledoves are smaller than regular pigeons.
• The Christmas song mentions two turtledoves in a pear tree.