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raptorial

 - 3 dictionary results

rap⋅to⋅ri⋅al

  [rap-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-]
Use raptorial in a Sentence
–adjective
1. preying upon other animals; predatory.
2. adapted for seizing prey, as the bill or claws of a bird.
3. belonging or pertaining to the Raptores, a former order in which the falconiform and strigiform birds were erroneously grouped together.
Origin:
1815–25; < L raptōr- (s. of raptor raptor ) + -ial
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To raptorial
rap·to·ri·al   (rāp-tôr'ē-əl, -tōr'-)   
adj.  

  1. Subsisting by seizing prey; predatory.

  2. Adapted for the seizing of prey.

  3. Of, relating to, or characteristic of birds of prey.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

raptorial 
"predatory," 1825, from L. raptor "robber," from rapt-, pp. stem of rapere "seize" (see rapid). Raptor in ornithology is first attested 1873.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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