Tiercel

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Tiercel \Tier"cel\, Tiercelet \Tierce"let\, n. [OE. tercel,
     tercelet, F. tiercelet, a dim. of (assumed) tiercel, or LL.
     tertiolus, dim. fr. L. tertius the third; -- so called,
     according to some, because every third bird in the nest is a
     male, or, according to others, because the male is the third
     part less than female. Cf. {Tercel}.] (Falconry)


     The male of various falcons, esp. of the peregrine; also, the
     male of the goshawk. --Encyc. Brit.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  tiercel
       n : male hawk especially male peregrine or gyrfalcon [syn: {tercel},
            {tercelet}]