Wiktionary

sparrowhawk

See also: sparrow hawk

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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”).

Noun

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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

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terms derived from sparrowhawk

Translations

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Further reading

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