English Explanatory Dictionary

sparrowhawk

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, a small, short-winged European hawk that preys on smaller birds.
  2. A female such bird, a male being a musket.
  3. Any of numerous other relatively small birds of Old World species of Accipiter, that prey on smaller birds or otherwise resemble A. nisus.
  4. Alternative form of sparrow hawk; American kestrel, Falco sparverius, of similar size and habit.

Pronunciation

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-sparrowhawk.wav

Word forms

sparrowhawk sparrowhawks sparrow-hawk sparrow hawk sparhawk spar-hawk

Etymology

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”).

Derived words

African little sparrowhawk American sparrowhawk black sparrowhawk chestnut-flanked sparrowhawk Chinese sparrowhawk collared sparrowhawk Eurasian sparrowhawk dwarf sparrowhawk Frances’s sparrowhawk great sparrowhawk Hilgert's sparrowhawk imitator sparrowhawk Japanese sparrowhawk Levant sparrowhawk little sparrowhawk Madagascan sparrowhawk New Britain sparrowhawk Nicobar sparrowhawk northern sparrowhawk Ovambo sparrowhawk red-legged sparrowhawk red-thighed sparrowhawk rufous-breasted sparrowhawk rufous-chested sparrowhawk rufous-necked sparrowhawk slaty-backed sparrowhawk slaty-mantled sparrowhawk small sparrowhawk spot-tailed sparrowhawk vinous-breasted sparrowhawk western little sparrowhawk
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