falconet

American  

[fawl-kuh-net, fal-, faw-kuh-] / ˈfɔl kəˌnɛt, ˈfæl-, ˈfɔ kə- /

noun

1. any of several small Asian falcons, especially of the genus Microhierax.

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falconet British  

/ ˈfɔːkə-, ˈfɔːlkəˌnɛt /

noun

1. any of various small falcons, esp any of the Asiatic genus Microhierax

2. a small light cannon used from the 15th to 17th centuries

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Etymology

Origin of falconet

First recorded in 1850–55; falcon + -et

Example Sentences

For its later application to a firearm cf. falconet.

From The Romance of Names by Weekley, Ernest

The falconet, minion, falcon, saker, and demi-culverin were known respectively as 2, 3, 4, 6, and 9-pounders; while the heavier pieces, or culverins, ranged from 15-pounders up to the "cannon-royall," or 63-pounders.

From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 03 by Hakluyt, Richard

"Nay, but we started as balls shot from a falconet."

From Dreamers of the Ghetto by Zangwill, Israel

A plague on falcon and falconet, on cannon and demicannon, and all the barking bull-dogs whom they halloo against stone and lime in these our days!

From The Abbot by Scott, Walter, Sir

He was always a good shot with a falconet or a mortar-piece.

From Micah Clarke His Statement as made to his three grandchildren Joseph, Gervas and Reuben During the Hard Winter of 1734 by Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir