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falcon

[fawl-kuh n, fal-, faw-kuh n]
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noun

any of several birds of prey of the family Falconidae, especially of the genus Falco, usually distinguished by long, pointed wings, a hooked beak with a toothlike notch on each side of the upper bill, and swift, agile flight, typically diving to seize prey: some falcon species are close to extinction.
Falconry.
  1. the female gyrfalcon.
  2. falcon-gentle.
  3. any bird of prey trained for use in falconry.Compare tercel.
a small, light cannon in use from the 15th to the 17th century.
(initial capital letter) Military. a family of air-to-air guided missiles, some of them capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Origin of falcon

1200–50; Middle English fauco(u)n, falcon < Anglo-French, Old French faucon < Late Latin falcōn- (stem of falcō) hawk (said to be derivative of falx, stem falc- sickle, referring to the sicklelike talons)
Related formsfal·co·nine [fawl-kuh-nahyn, -nin, fal-, faw-kuh-] /ˈfɔl kəˌnaɪn, -nɪn, ˈfæl-, ˈfɔ kə-/, adjectivefal·co·noid, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for falcon

Contemporary Examples of falcon

Historical Examples of falcon

  • I gave it—ay, I gave it to a youth that came to mine aid, and reclaimed a falcon for me!

    The Armourer's Prentices

    Charlotte M. Yonge

  • It is possible that in snaring the owl we have caught the falcon.

    Micah Clarke

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • The falcon is the falcon of the gods, and the hound is the hound of the gods.

  • Note: Yang Oerlang is a huntsman, as is indicated by his falcon and hound.

  • At her side rode her brother, a splendid blaze of finery, falcon on wrist.

    The Shame of Motley

    Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for falcon

falcon

noun

any diurnal bird of prey of the family Falconidae, esp any of the genus Falco (gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon, etc), typically having pointed wings and a long tail
  1. any of these or related birds, trained to hunt small game
  2. the female of such a birdCompare tercel Related adjective: falconine
a light-medium cannon used from the 15th to 17th centuries

Word Origin for falcon

C13: from Old French faucon, from Late Latin falcō hawk, probably of Germanic origin; perhaps related to Latin falx sickle
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for falcon
n.

mid-13c., from Old French faucon (12c.), from Late Latin falconem (nominative falco) "falcon," probably from Latin falx (genitive falcis) "curved blade, pruning hook, sickle;" the bird said to be so called for the shape of its talons, legs, or beak, but also possibly from the shape of its spread wings.

The other theory is that falx is of Germanic origin and means "gray bird," which is supported by the antiquity of the word in Germanic but opposed by those who point out that falconry by all evidences was imported from the East, and the Germans got it from the Romans, not the other way around.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper