Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a large falcon, Falco rusticolus, of arctic and subarctic regions, having white, gray, or blackish color phases: now greatly reduced in number.
noun
- a very large rare falcon, Falco rusticolus, of northern and arctic regions: often used for hunting
also gerfalcon, c.1200, from Old French girfauc “large northern falcon,” probably from Frankish, from Proto-Germanic *ger (cf. Old High German gir “vulture”) + Latin falco “hawk” (see falcon). Folk etymology connects it with Latin gyrus (see gyre) in reference to “circling” in the air.