Dictionary

kestrel en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈkɛstɹəl/

Etymology

From Middle English castrel (“staniel, bird of prey”), from Middle French cresserelle, crecerelle (“bird of prey”), usually assumed to be from crecelle (“rattle, wooden reel”) (modern crécelle), of obscure origin. Cognates possibly include: Medieval Latin clisterella f, French crécerelle f and cristel m, Neapolitan castariello m and crestariello m, all sharing the same meaning. Derivation from the assumed Vulgar Latin *crepicella, *crepitacillum, a diminutive of crepitāculum, from crepitāre (“to crackle”) is difficult to explain from a morphological point of view. Instead, possibly from a root *krek-, *krak- (“to crack, rattle, creak, emit a bird cry”), from Middle Dutch crāken (“to creak, crack”), from Old Dutch *krakōn (“to crack, creak, emit a cry”), from Proto-West Germanic *krakōn (“to emit a cry, shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerg- (“to shout”). Cognate with Old High German krahhōn (“to make a sound, crash”), Old English cracian (“to resound”), French craquer (“to emit a repeated cry, used of birds”). More at creak, crack.

Meanings

1. Any of various small falcons of the genus Falco that hover while hunting.
   • Up on the downs the red-eyed kestrels hover, Eyeing the grass. The field mouse flits like a shadow into cover As their shadows pass. 1917, John Masefield, Up on the Downs:
   • When she was musing she was a kestrel, which hangs in the air by an invisible motion of its wings. 1878, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native, book 3 chapter 6:
2. A common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).

Forms

Deriveds

American kestrel · banded kestrel · Nankeen kestrel · Mauritius kestrel · grey kestrel · greater kestrel · Dickinson's kestrel · common kestrel · fox kestrel · lesser kestrel · spotted kestrel · Malagasy kestrel · Seychelles kestrel

Synonyms

staniel (common kestrel) · windhover (common kestrel)

Translations (66)

bg сокол (any small falcon of genus Falco) · no falk (any small falcon of genus Falco) · pl sokół (any small falcon of genus Falco) · mk сокол (any small falcon of genus Falco) · da falk (any small falcon of genus Falco) · it falco (any small falcon of genus Falco) · is valur (any small falcon of genus Falco) · nap castariello (any small falcon of genus Falco) · de Falke (any small falcon of genus Falco) · es cernícalo (any small falcon of genus Falco) · ca falcó (any small falcon of genus Falco) · pt falcão (any small falcon of genus Falco) · it falchetto (any small falcon of genus Falco) · la falco (any small falcon of genus Falco) · grc κέρχνη (any small falcon of genus Falco) · fo smyril (any small falcon of genus Falco) · rom falkono (any small falcon of genus Falco) · sk sokol (any small falcon of genus Falco) · io falkono (any small falcon of genus Falco) · eo falko (any small falcon of genus Falco) · fi haukka (any small falcon of genus Falco) · sh сокол (any small falcon of genus Falco) · hsb sokoł (any small falcon of genus Falco) · ks بٕہٕر (any small falcon of genus Falco) · ru пустельга́ (any small falcon of genus Falco) · fr cristel (any small falcon of genus Falco) · cy cudyll (any small falcon of genus Falco) · nl valk (any small falcon of genus Falco) · fo falkur (any small falcon of genus Falco) · rm falcun (any small falcon of genus Falco) · gl falcón (any small falcon of genus Falco) · dmw dirdila (any small falcon of genus Falco) · fy falk (any small falcon of genus Falco) · gl tartaraña (any small falcon of genus Falco) · sh soko (any small falcon of genus Falco) · gd speireag ruadh (any small falcon of genus Falco) · kmr teztezok (any small falcon of genus Falco) · nap crestariello (any small falcon of genus Falco) · tr kerkenez (any small falcon of genus Falco) · is fálki (any small falcon of genus Falco) · fr crécerelle (any small falcon of genus Falco) · uk сокіл (any small falcon of genus Falco) · uk сапсан (any small falcon of genus Falco) · af valk (any small falcon of genus Falco) · lb Kréchel (any small falcon of genus Falco) · sl sokol (any small falcon of genus Falco) · nds Falk (any small falcon of genus Falco) · sh sokol (any small falcon of genus Falco) · fur falcon (any small falcon of genus Falco) · el κιρκινέζι (any small falcon of genus Falco) · hy հողմավար (any small falcon of genus Falco) · br falc'hun (any small falcon of genus Falco) · it falcone (any small falcon of genus Falco) · lld falcon (any small falcon of genus Falco) · ks بٕۂر (any small falcon of genus Falco) · is haukur (any small falcon of genus Falco) · sv falk (any small falcon of genus Falco) · fi jalohaukka (any small falcon of genus Falco) · hu vércse (any small falcon of genus Falco) · dsb sokoł (any small falcon of genus Falco) · no hauk (any small falcon of genus Falco) · ga pocaire gaoithe (any small falcon of genus Falco) · ckb شاھین (any small falcon of genus Falco) · rm creivel (any small falcon of genus Falco) · cs poštolka (any small falcon of genus Falco) · sh соко (any small falcon of genus Falco)