diurnal birds of prey having long pointed powerful wings adapted for swift flight
"The falcon dove from its high perch, using its long, pointed wings to swoop rapidly toward the ground."
Any bird of the genus Falco, all of which are birds of prey.
"The falcon swooped down from the sky to catch its prey."
In plain English: A falcon is a type of bird known for being very fast and skilled at hunting other animals by flying high in the sky before diving down to catch them.
"The falcon dove from the sky to catch its prey."
Usage: A falcon is any member of the Falco genus and refers specifically to these raptors rather than other types of hawks. The term can also function as a verb meaning to hunt using trained birds of prey from this group.
To hunt with a falcon or falcons.
"The lord spent his days hunting in the high mountains, where he would release his trained falcons to snatch prey from the air."
In plain English: To falcon is to fly very fast and dive sharply downward, usually while hunting prey.
"The hunter falconed at the deer before spotting its tracks in the snow."
A surname, from Spanish.
"The award-winning author Falcon wrote a compelling novel about the desert."
The word "falcon" comes from the Middle English faucoun and Old French falcun, which were borrowed from Late Latin. Its ultimate origin is Germanic, tracing back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "pale" or "fallow."