TERCEL


Meaning of TERCEL in English

n. (also tiercel) Falconry the male of the hawk, esp. a peregrine or goshawk.

[ ME f. OF tercel, ult. a dimin. of L tertius third, perh. from a belief that the third egg of a clutch produced a male bird, or that the male was one-third smaller than the female ]

Concise Oxford English dictionary.      Краткий оксфордский словарь английского языка.