Falcon - Definitions from Dictionary.com

11 results for: Falcon

Browse Nearby Entries

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

fal·con

Audio Help [fawl-kuh

n, fal-, faw-kuh

n] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	any of several birds of prey of the family Falconidae, esp. of the genus Falco, usually distinguished by long, pointed wings, a hooked beak with a toothlike notch on each side of the upper bill, and swift, agile flight, typically diving to seize prey: some falcon species are close to extinction.

Falconry.

a.	the female gyrfalcon.

b.	falcon-gentle.

c.	any bird of prey trained for use in falconry. Compare tercel.

3.	a small, light cannon in use from the 15th to the 17th century.

4.	(initial capital letter) Military. a family of air-to-air guided missiles, some of them capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

[Origin: 1200–50; ME fauco(u)n, falcon < AF, OF faucon < LL falcōn- (s. of falcō) hawk (said to be deriv. of falx, s. falc- sickle, referring to the sicklelike talons)

]

—Related forms

fal·co·nine

Audio Help [fawl-kuh-nahyn, -nin, fal-, faw-kuh-] Pronunciation Key, adjective

fal·co·noid, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Falcon

To learn more about Falcon visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fal·con Audio Help (fāl'kən, fôl'-, fô'kən) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. Any of various birds of prey of the family Falconidae and especially of the genus Falco, having a short, curved beak and long, pointed, powerful wings adapted for swift flight.
2. Any of several birds of these or related species, such as hawks, trained to hunt small game.
3. A female bird of this type used in falconry.
A small cannon in use from the 15th to the 17th century.

[Middle English, from Old French faucon, falcun, from Late Latin falcō, falcōn-; see pel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
falcon

c.1250, from O.Fr. faucon, from L.L. falconem (nom. falco), probably from L. falx (gen. falcis) "sickle," usually said to be so called for the shape of its talons or beak, but possibly from the shape of its spread wings. The other theory is that falx is of Gmc. origin, which is supported by the antiquity of the word in Gmc. but opposed by those who point out that falconry by all evidences was imported from the East, and the Germans got it from the Romans, not the other way around.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

falcon
noun
1.	diurnal birds of prey having long pointed powerful wings adapted for swift flight
verb
1.	hunt with falcons; "The tribes like to falcon in the desert"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
falcon [ˈfoːlkən, (American) ˈfal-] noun

a kind of bird of prey sometimes used for hunting

Arabic:	باز، صَقْر
Chinese (Simplified):	猎鹰；隼
Chinese (Traditional):	獵鷹；隼
Czech:	sokol
Danish:	falk
Dutch:	valk
Estonian:	pistrik
Finnish:	haukka
French:	faucon
German:	der Falke
Greek:	γεράκι
Hungarian:	sólyom
Icelandic:	fálki
Indonesian:	elang
Italian:	falco

Japanese:	はやぶさ
Korean:	매
Latvian:	vanags
Lithuanian:	sakalas
Norwegian:	falk
Polish:	sokół
Portuguese (Brazil):	falcão
Portuguese (Portugal):	falcão
Romanian:	şoim
Russian:	сокол
Slovak:	sokol
Slovenian:	sokol
Spanish:	halcón
Swedish:	falk
Turkish:	doğan, şahin

U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Falcon Heights, MN (city, FIPS 20420) Location: 44.98790 N, 93.17943 W
Population (1990): 5380 (2057 housing units)
Area: 5.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

Falcon, MO Zip code(s): 65470

Falcon, MS (town, FIPS 24180) Location: 34.39265 N, 90.25548 W
Population (1990): 167 (68 housing units)
Area: 1.0 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

Falcon, NC (town, FIPS 22620) Location: 35.19440 N, 78.64858 W
Population (1990): 216 (90 housing units)
Area: 3.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Falcon

Fal"con\, n. [OE. faucon, faucoun, OF. faucon, falcon, ?. faucon, fr. LL. falco, perh. from L. falx, falcis, a sickle or scythe, and named from its curving talons. Cf. Falchion.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) (a) One of a family (Falconid[ae]) of raptorial birds, characterized by a short, hooked beak, strong claws, and powerful flight. (b) Any species of the genus Falco, distinguished by having a toothlike lobe on the upper mandible; especially, one of this genus trained to the pursuit of other birds, or game.

In the language of falconry, the female peregrine (Falco peregrinus) is exclusively called the falcon. --Yarrell.

2. (Gun.) An ancient form of cannon.

Chanting falcon. (Zo["o]l.) See under Chanting.

Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

FALCon

FALCon: in Acronym Finder

Browse Nearby Entries: