falcon

Meanings

Noun

• Any bird of the genus Falco, all of which are birds of prey.
• A female such bird, a male being a tiercel.
• A light cannon used from the 15th to the 17th century; a falconet.

Verb

• To hunt with a falcon or falcons.

Origin

• From Middle English faucoun, falcon, faulcon, from Old French falcun, from Late Latin falcō ("falcon"), of Germanic origin, probably via Frankish *falkō ("falcon, hawk"), from Proto-Germanic *falkô ("falcon"), from Proto-Indo-European *pol̑- ("pale"), from *pel-.
• Cognate with Old English *fealca, fealcen, Dutch valk ("falcon, hawk"), German Falke ("falcon, hawk"), Norwegian and Swedish falk ("falcon"), Icelandic fálki ("falcon"), Lithuanian pálšas ("pale"), Latvian bāls ("pale"), Latgalian buolgs ("pale"). More at fallow.