dove1

noun

• 1a stocky seed- or fruit-eating bird with a small head, short legs, and a cooing voice. Doves are generally smaller and more delicate than pigeons, but many kinds have been given both names.

  • Family Columbidae: numerous genera and species; white doves are a variety of the domestic pigeon

• 2a person who advocates peaceful or conciliatory policies, especially in foreign affairs. Compare with hawk¹ (sense 2 of the noun).

• 3 (Dove) (in Christian art and poetry) the Holy Spirit (as represented in John 1:32).