gyrfalcon
UK /ˈdʒɜːfɔːlkən/ · US /ˈd͡ʒɝˌfælkən/ noun
Forms gyrfalcons gerfalcon gyr falcon jerfalcon
- noun (obsolete) Any large falcon, especially as used to fly at herons.
- noun Falco rusticolus, a large bird of prey that breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Old French gerfaucon (modern French gerfaut), with the first element probably from Old High German gīr (“vulture”) (whence the German Geier).
Webster’s 1913
- noun One of several species and varieties of large Arctic falcons, esp. Falco rusticolus and the white species F. Islandicus, both of which are circumpolar. The black and the gray are varieties of the former. See Illust. of Accipiter. [Written also gerfalcon, gierfalcon, and jerfalcon.]
Etymology [OE. gerfaucon, OF. gerfaucon, LL. gyrofalco, perh. fr. L. gyrus circle + falco falcon, and named from its circling flight; or cf. E. gier-eagle. See Gyre, n., Falcon.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “gyrfalcon”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details