n.
A widely distributed, swift-flying bird of prey (Falco peregrinus), having gray and white plumage, much used in falconry. Also called duck hawk.
[Middle English, translation of Medieval Latin falcō peregrīnus (so called because they were caught in passage rather than taken from the nest as were eyas falcons).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
