tercel
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of tercel
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French terçuel < Vulgar Latin *tertiolus, equivalent to Latin terti ( us ) third + -olus -ole 1; probably so called because the male is about one third smaller than the female
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.
A wild tercel, the male peregrine falcon, passed overhead.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
The red eyes of the tercel flash as he comes at me.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
The tercel ignores them and climbs, it seems to me, into the very stratosphere.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
The tercel circles the tree and grows calmer as we descend.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
“Because,” I answer softly, “she can breed. I saw her flirt with a tercel last spring. She will have young. There will be wild peregrines on the cliffs again.”
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
