Etymologically
Log in

eagle

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:56. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈiːɡəl/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English egle, borrowed from Anglo-Norman egle, Old French egle, aigle,[2][3][4] from Old Occitan aigla, from Latin aquila (“eagle”),[5][2] probably feminine of aquilus, dark-coloured (see aquiline).[5][2][3] The native word was erne.[5] The spelling eagle developed in the 1600s.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The large bird of prey: before 1338, in Mannyng's Chronicle of England;[2] about 1380 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

The eagle as a Roman ensign is from before 1400, and as an armorial bearing, especially of the Holy Roman Empire, from about 1386.[6] A $10 gold coin of the United States, minted from 1792 to 1933, was named in the 1786 resolution for a new monetary system.[5] The insignia of a US colonel is from 1861.[6] In golf, a score of two under par is from 1922 in the OED,[6] by 1908 in Etymonline, explained as soaring higher than a birdie.[5] Eagle-eyed is from about 1600.[5] The bald eagle is the emblem of the United States, and the Eagle has landed was said at the first moon landing in 1969.[7]

Timeline

  • before 1338 – egle, the bird.[2]
  • c. 1386 – in heraldry.[6]
  • c. 1600 – eagle-eyed.[5]
  • 1786 – the US coin.[5]
  • 1861 – a colonel's insignia.[6]
  • 1922 – in golf.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A large bird of prey with a hooked beak, keen sight and broad wings for soaring flight.
  2. A figure of an eagle used as an emblem.
  3. (golf) A score of two strokes under par on a hole.

Verb

  1. (golf) To play a hole in two strokes under par.

Word family

  • double eagle
  • half eagle
  • legal eagle
  • eaglet
  • aquiline
  • erne

Usage notes

Two unrelated dialect words recorded by the EDD are eagle, an icicle, in Warwickshire, and eagle, a small bag, in Norfolk.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)