English Explanatory Dictionary

chickenhawk

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any of the North American hawk species (Cooper's hawk, sharp-shinned hawk and red-tailed hawk), or counterparts elsewhere, mistakenly believed to be pests.
  2. A draft dodger, especially in the Vietnam War, who nonetheless currently supports United States overseas military engagements.
  3. An older, usually more powerful man who preys on adolescent boys for sex.

Pronunciation

/ˈt͡ʃɪkɪnˌhɔk/ En-au-chickenhawk.ogg

Word forms

chickenhawk chickenhawks

Etymology

From chicken + hawk. The political sense is derived from figurative meanings of “coward” and “militant” respectively.

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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