tercel

UK: /ˈtɜːs^əl/ US: (tûr′səl)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ter•cel  (tûr′səl), n. [Falconry.]

1. Sport the male of a hawk, esp. of a gyrfalcon or peregrine.

Also, terce•let  (tûrs′lit), tiercel. 

• Vulgar Latin *tertiolus, equivalent. to Latin terti(us) third + -olus -ole¹; probably so called because the male is about one third smaller than the female
• Middle French terçuel
• Middle English 1350–1400

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tercel / ˈtɜːs^əl/, tiercel noun

1. a male falcon or hawk, esp as used in falconry

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French, from Vulgar Latin tertiolus (unattested), from Latin tertius third, referring to the tradition that only one egg in three hatched a male chick