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windhover

[ wind-huhv-er, -hov- ]
/ ˈwɪndˌhʌv ər, -ˌhɒv- /
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noun
the kestrel, Falco tinnunculus.
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Origin of windhover

1665–75; wind1 + hover; from its hovering flight, head to the wind

Words nearby windhover

wind gauge, wind generator, Windham, wind harp, Windhoek, windhover, Windies, windigo, wind indicator, winding, winding drum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use windhover in a sentence

  • As illustrating a remarkable quality of flight, the case of the kestrel or windhover may be taken.

    Poachers and Poaching|John Watson

  • The kestrel or windhover acts in quite a different fashion to the sparrow-hawk.

    Poachers and Poaching|John Watson

  • But the greatest of all exponents in the art of hovering is the kestrel, known also, for this very reason, as the “windhover.”

    Birds in Flight|W. P. Pycraft

British Dictionary definitions for windhover

windhover
/ (ˈwɪndˌhɒvə) /
noun
British a dialect name for a kestrel
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
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