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plural bitterns
Several bird species in the Botaurinae subfamily of the heron family Ardeidae. quotations examples
It is a great rock or cliff on the loneliest part of the mountains, and […] is known by the name of the Garden Rock. Near the foot of it is a small lake, the haunt of the solitary bittern, with water-snakes basking in the sun on the leaves of the pond-lilies which lie on the surface.
1819, Washington Irving, The Sketch Book, Rip Van Winkle
countable and uncountable, plural bitterns
The liquor remaining after halite (common salt) has been harvested from saline water (brine). examples
The saline substance added to soy milk to coagulate it as a primary step in the production of tofu. quotations examples
Now we add the bittern.
2019, “The Secrets of Tofu across Japan”, in Seasoning the Seasons, NHK World-Japan
(archaic) A very bitter compound of quassia, cocculus indicus, etc., used by fraudulent brewers in adulterating beer.