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Hawk   /hɔk/   Listen
noun
Hawk  n.  (Zool.) One of numerous species and genera of rapacious birds of the family Falconidae. They differ from the true falcons in lacking the prominent tooth and notch of the bill, and in having shorter and less pointed wings. Many are of large size and grade into the eagles. Some, as the goshawk, were formerly trained like falcons. In a more general sense the word is not infrequently applied, also, to true falcons, as the sparrow hawk, pigeon hawk, duck hawk, and prairie hawk. Note: Among the common American species are the red-tailed hawk (Buteo borealis); the red-shouldered (Buteo lineatus); the broad-winged (Buteo Pennsylvanicus); the rough-legged (Archibuteo lagopus); the sharp-shinned (Accipiter fuscus). See Fishhawk, Goshawk, Marsh hawk, under Marsh, Night hawk, under Night.
Bee hawk (Zool.), the honey buzzard.
Eagle hawk. See under Eagle.
Hawk eagle (Zool.), an Asiatic bird of the genus Spizaetus, or Limnaetus, intermediate between the hawks and eagles. There are several species.
Hawk fly (Zool.), a voracious fly of the family Asilidae. See Hornet fly, under Hornet.
Hawk moth. (Zool.) See Hawk moth, in the Vocabulary.
Hawk owl. (Zool.)
(a)
A northern owl (Surnia ulula) of Europe and America. It flies by day, and in some respects resembles the hawks.
(b)
An owl of India (Ninox scutellatus).
Hawk's bill (Horology), the pawl for the rack, in the striking mechanism of a clock.



Hawk  n.  An effort to force up phlegm from the throat, accompanied with noise.



Hawk  n.  (Masonry) A small board, with a handle on the under side, to hold mortar.
Hawk boy, an attendant on a plasterer to supply him with mortar.



verb
Hawk  v. t.  To raise by hawking, as phlegm.



Hawk  v. t.  To offer for sale by outcry in the street; to carry (merchandise) about from place to place for sale; to peddle; as, to hawk goods or pamphlets. "His works were hawked in every street."



Hawk  v. i.  (past & past part. hawked; pres. part. hawking)  
1.
To catch, or attempt to catch, birds by means of hawks trained for the purpose, and let loose on the prey; to practice falconry. "A falconer Henry is, when Emma hawks."
2.
To make an attack while on the wing; to soar and strike like a hawk; generally with at; as, to hawk at flies. "A falcon, towering in her pride of place, Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed."



Hawk  v. i.  To clear the throat with an audible sound by forcing an expiratory current of air through the narrow passage between the depressed soft palate and the root of the tongue, thus aiding in the removal of foreign substances.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Hawk" Quotes from Famous Books



... looked up and saw a large bird not very far up, not farther than he could fling, or shoot his arrows, and the bird was fluttering his wings, but did not move away farther, as if he had been tied in the air. Guido knew it was a hawk, and the hawk was staying there to see if there was a mouse or a little bird in the wheat. After a minute the hawk stopped fluttering and lifted his wings together as a butterfly does when he shuts his, and down the hawk came, straight into the corn. "Go away!" shouted Guido jumping up, and ...
— Short Stories and Selections for Use in the Secondary Schools • Emilie Kip Baker

... stream, flowing by an iron channel farther south, may be traced by a long line of vapor amid the hills, which no morning wind ever disperses, to where it empties into the sea at Boston. This side is the louder murmur now. Instead of the scream of a fish-hawk scaring the fishes, is heard the whistle of the steam-engine, arousing a country ...
— A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers • Henry David Thoreau

... hawk, the aeroplane, its propeller flashing in the sunlight, hung over Lost Island. For fully six seconds it remained there, not moving an inch. Suddenly it lurched, dropped half the distance to the trees, the yellow planes snapping like gun-shots. It ...
— The Boy Scouts of the Air on Lost Island • Gordon Stuart

... Black Hawk war, and I was elected a captain of volunteers, a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I went the campaign, was elated, ran for the legislature the same year (1832), and was beaten—the only time I have ever been beaten by the 25 people. ...
— Story Hour Readings: Seventh Year • E.C. Hartwell

... of Tarrinzeau Field were aghast at Gwynplaine. The effect he caused was as that of a sparrow-hawk flapping his wings in a cage of goldfinches, and feeding in their seed-trough. Gwynplaine ate ...
— The Man Who Laughs • Victor Hugo


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