falcon English · revision 39834

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=a1250, The Owl and the Nightingale|origins=la-lat falcō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfɔː(l)kən/, /ˈfɒlkən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|faucon]], [[bor|fro|faucon]] or [[m|fro|falcun]], the oblique case of [[m|fro|fauc]],^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) [[der|la-lat|falcō|t=falcon]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024) The Late Latin word is of uncertain origin.^(Hoad 1986)^(ODE 2010) It is commonly taken from [[m|la|falx|t=sickle, pruning hook]], the bird being named for its hooked talons;^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016) Etymonline adds that the name may refer to its beak or to its spread wings,^(Etymonline) and Weekley preferred the sword-like wings.^(Weekley 1921) Others take the Latin word from Germanic, comparing [[goh|falcho]], [[de|Falke]] and [[nl|valk]] and the personal name Falco among the Lombards, Visigoths and Franks;^(MWU 2024)^(Ayto 2005)^(SOED 2002)^(Partridge 1966) Etymonline reports a proposed meaning "grey bird", from the root of [[pale]] and [[fallow]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) Barnhart and Etymonline object that falconry came from the East, so the Germanic peoples are likely to have taken the word from the Romans rather than the reverse.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The spelling with ''-l-'' was refashioned after Latin in the 15th century.^(OED 2026)^(ODE 2010)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A diurnal bird of prey used in falconry: about 1250, spelled ''faucun'', in ''The Owl and the Nightingale'',^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) the mid-13th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Anglo-Norman ''faucon'' is recorded from 1121–35.^(AND) The Oxford Dictionary of English notes that the word first named any bird of prey used in falconry.^(ODE 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Merriam-Webster's ''Book of Word Histories'' traces the word to the Norman Conquest, after which French became the language of falconry in England; in the sport the name ''falcon'' was originally given only to the female, the smaller male being the ''tiercel''.^(MW Word Histories)^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023) Johnson (1755) defined it as a hawk trained for sport.^(Johnson 1755) From 1496 the word also named a light cannon,^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023) and in 1525 also a representation of the bird, as in heraldry.^(OED 2026)^(AND) In ornithology it came to mean any member of the genus Falco, with long pointed wings,^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) named by species from 1525.^(OED 2026) According to Cresswell, the ''-l-'' long stayed silent in some speakers' pronunciation.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – ''faucun'', a bird of prey used in falconry.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 15th century – the spelling with ''-l-''.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1496 – a light cannon.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1525 – a representation of a falcon.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1807 – the verb, to hunt with falcons.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[bird of prey]] of the genus Falco, with long pointed [[wing|alt=wings]] and a hooked [[beak]], such as the [[peregrine]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Such a bird, especially a female, trained to hunt in [[falconry]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(historical)'' A light [[cannon]] used from the 15th to the 17th century.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[falconoid]]

+ * [[falconer]]

+ * [[falconry]]

+ * [[falconet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[falcon-gentle]]

+ * [[tiercel]]

+ * [[gyrfalcon]]

+ * [[hawk]]

+ * [[falcate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}