Goshawk

//ˈɡɒshɔːk// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of several birds of prey, principally in the genus Accipiter.

    "But you heed me no more than a goss-hawk minds a yellow yoldring."

  2. 2
    large hawk of Eurasia and North America used in falconry wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
accipiter gentilis

Example

More examples

"A shadow falls on Kai. Instinct takes over and he rolls left. The Goshawk misses. Wings beat so close Kai feels the air move, hears the disappointed shriek next to his head."

Etymology

From Middle English goshauk, from Old English gōshafoc (“goose hawk”), from gōs (“goose”) and hafoc (“hawk”). Compare also Old Norse gáshaukr and Late Middle English gosling. The bird gets its name from the fact that the birds of the species are hawks that were alleged to prey on geese.

Related phrases

African goshawkChinese goshawkDoria's goshawkFiji goshawkFrances' goshawkGabar goshawkHenst's goshawkMeyer's goshawkMoluccan goshawkNew Britain goshawkSulawesi goshawkblack goshawk

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.