tiercel
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle French terçuel, from Late Latin tertiolus, the diminutive of Latin tertius (“third”). Sources disagree whether the connection is that the males of most species of birds of prey favoured in falconry are smaller than the females by about a third, or whether it refers to the supposition that only one egg in three yields a male.
Noun
tiercel (plural tiercels)
Synonyms
Related terms
Translations
male hawk or falcon, used in falconry