falcon

UK: /ˈfɔːlkən/

US: /ˈfɔlkən, ˈfæl-/

US: (fôl′kən, fal′-, fô′kən)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

fal•con /ˈfɔlkən, ˈfæl-/   n. [countable]

1. Birds a bird of prey having long pointed wings.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

fal•con  (fôl′kən, fal′-, fô′kən), n. 

1. Birds any of several birds of prey of the family Falconidae, esp. of the genus Falco, usually distinguished by long, pointed wings, a hooked beak with a toothlike notch on each side of the upper bill, and swift, agile flight, typically diving to seize prey: some falcon species are close to extinction.
2. [Falconry.]
   • the female gyrfalcon.
   • falcon-gentle.
   • any bird of prey trained for use in falconry. Cf. tercel.
3. a small, light cannon in use from the 15th to the 17th century.
4. Military (cap.) a family of air-to-air guided missiles, some of them capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

• Late Latin falcōn- (stem of falcō) hawk (said to be derivative of falx, stem falc- sickle, referring to the sicklelike talons)
• Anglo-French, Old French faucon
• 1200–50; Middle English fauco(u)n, falcon

fal•co•nine  (fôl′kə nīn′, -nin, fal′-, fô′kə-), adj.  fal′co•noid′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

falcon / ˈfɔːlkən ˈfɔːkən/ noun

1. any diurnal bird of prey of the family Falconidae, esp any of the genus Falco (gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon, etc), typically having pointed wings and a long tail
2. any of these or related birds, trained to hunt small game
3. the female of such a bird
   Compare tercel

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French faucon, from Late Latin falcō hawk, probably of Germanic origin; perhaps related to Latin falx sickle