peregrine
Americanadjective
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foreign; alien; coming from abroad.
-
wandering, traveling, or migrating.
noun
adjective
-
coming from abroad
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travelling or migratory; wandering
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of peregrine
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin peregrīnus foreign, derivative of peregrē abroad, literally, through (i.e., beyond the borders of ) the field, equivalent to per- per- + -egr-, combining form of ager field + -ē adv. suffix; see -ine 1
Explanation
A peregrine is a fairly common type of raptor, or hunting bird. While peregrines are about the size of a crow, they are much fiercer predators. You can also call a peregrine a peregrine falcon. In falconry, the training of hawks and falcons for hunting, peregrines are popular. These birds are found everywhere on earth with just a few exceptions. The word peregrine has a Latin root, peregrinus, "coming from foreign parts" — these birds tend to be caught during migration rather than taken from the nest. Peregrine is also used to simply mean "migratory" or "foreign."
Vocabulary lists containing peregrine
A Lexical Zoo of Animal Adjectives
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My Side of the Mountain
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On the Far Side of the Mountain
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Peregrine falcon numbers in Yosemite and across the country plummeted from the 1950s to the 1970s due to DDT poisoning.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2024
Peregrine falcons in the city tend to nest at high points such as bridges and church steeples because they provide a good spot for the birds to spot prey.
From Seattle Times • May 25, 2024
Its Peregrine lander developed technical problems en route to the Moon and gave up the opportunity of a touchdown.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2024
This is similar to how a Pittsburgh-based company called Astrobiotic built the Peregrine lander with the hope of it landing on the Moon in January.
From Salon • Feb. 23, 2024
“I’m sure Miss P knows what she’s doing ...” Miss Peregrine stopped a little way down the track, well out of anyone’s reach.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
