gyrfalcon
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Related to gyrfalcon: peregrine falcon
gyr·fal·con
also gerfalcon (jûr′făl′kən, -fôl′-, -fô′-)n.
A large black, gray, or white falcon (Falco rusticolus) that breeds in Arctic and subarctic regions and sometimes migrates to northern North America and Eurasia. It is highly valued in falconry.
[Middle English girfaucoun, from Old French girfaut, gerfaucon : Old High German gīr, vulture + Old French faucon, falcon; see falcon.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
gyrfalcon
(ˈdʒɜːˌfɔːlkən; -ˌfɔːkən) orgerfalcon
n
(Animals) a very large rare falcon, Falco rusticolus, of northern and arctic regions: often used for hunting
[C14: from Old French gerfaucon, perhaps from Old Norse geirfalki, from geirr spear + falki falcon]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
gyr•fal•con
(ˈdʒɜrˌfɔl kən, -ˌfæl-, -ˌfɔ kən)n.
a large falcon, Falco rusticolus, of arctic and subarctic regions, having white to dark color phases.
[1300–50; Middle English gerfaucon, jerfacoun < Old French, =ger- (probably < Old High German gīr vulture; compare lammergeier) + faucon falcon; compare Old Norse geirfalki]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  gyrfalcon - large and rare Arctic falcon having white and dark color phasesfalcon - diurnal birds of prey having long pointed powerful wings adapted for swift flight Falco, genus Falco - a genus of Falconidae |
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