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sparrowhawk

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: sparrow hawk

English

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Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English sparhauk, sperhauk, from Old English spearhafoc, spearhabuc (sparrow-hawk), from Proto-West Germanic *sparwahabuk, from Proto-Germanic *sparwahabukaz, equivalent to sparrow + hawk. Cognate with Danish spurvehøg (sparrowhawk), Swedish sparvhök (sparrowhawk), Icelandic sparrhaukur (sparrowhawk).

Pronunciation

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Noun

sparrowhawk (plural sparrowhawks)

  1. A Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, a small, short-winged European hawk that preys on smaller birds.
    1. (falconry) A female such bird, a male being a musket.
  2. Any of numerous other relatively small birds of Old World species of Accipiter, that prey on smaller birds or otherwise resemble A. nisus.
  3. Alternative form of sparrow hawk; American kestrel, Falco sparverius, of similar size and habit.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

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