Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A small or young falcon.
- n. Any of several small falcons, especially any of several species of the genus Microhierax native to tropical Asia.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A little falcon; specifically, in ornithology, a finch-falcon of the Oriental genus Ierax, Hierax, or Microhierax, which contains tiny falcons about six inches long, such as M. cœrulescens.
- n. A shrike of the genus Falcunculus. Also falconelle.
- n. A kind of cannon in use in the sixteenth century. It is stated to have had a bore of two inches and to have carried a shot of one and a half pounds weight. The standard fixed by Henry II. of France fixes the weight of the shot at 14 ounces poids du roi.
Wiktionary
- n. A small or young falcon
- n. Any of various small, tropical Asian falcons of the genus Microhierax found in Southeast Asia.
- n. military, historical A light cannon developed in the late 15th century and decorated with an image of a falcon.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. One of the smaller cannon used in the 15th century and later.
- n. One of several very small Asiatic falcons of the genus Microhierax.
- n. One of a group of Australian birds of the genus Falcunculus, resembling shrikes and titmice.
Etymologies
- falcon + -et (Wiktionary)
Examples
“A small piece, such as in that day was employed for the defence of castles, called a falconet, was elevated above the canoes, so that the shot, passing over the heads of their inmates, might take effect upon the woods along the shore.”
The Wigwam and the Cabin. By the Author of "The Yemassee," "Guy Rivers," &c. Second Series
“The apparition of Catherine Seyton, which the page had let loose in the first moment of astonishment, vanished in darkness; but the plash of oars was heard, and, in a second or two, five or six harquebuses and a falconet were fired from the battlements of the castle successively, as if levelled at some object on the water.”
“Practised archer! — marry, holy sir, I would he would practise something else — cross-bow and long-bow, hand-gun and hack-but, falconet and saker, he can shoot with them all.”
“How _vivo_ affected aiming is easily seen: with its bore level, a 4-pounder falconet ranged 250 paces.”
Artillery Through the Ages A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America
“As the fierce falcon hawk gave its name to the falcon and falconet, so the saker was named for the saker hawk; rabinet, meaning "rooster," was therefore a suitable name for the falcon's small-bore cousin.”
Artillery Through the Ages A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America
“I chose a swivel and a falconet, which were both a little damaged in the muzzle, and filled them with the projectiles I have mentioned.”
“For its later application to a firearm cf. falconet.”
“He was hard at work as we approached in trying the lock of a falconet; but perceiving us, he came forward and saluted us with much kindliness.”
“He was always a good shot with a falconet or a mortar-piece.”
“The only other family of birds running to such extremes is that of the birds of prey, which include at once the stately condor of the Andes with its wing-spread of fifteen feet, and the miniature red-legged falconet of India and adjoining countries, in which the same measurement would scarcely reach as many inches.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘falconet’.
-
Falconry
falconry, Falconry, falcon, austringer, bangle, bate, hood, tirret, bal-chatri trap, falconer, shikra trap, the falcon cannot... and 60 more...
-
noble mythical words
halcyon, yore, chevalier, geas, dour, clarion, codex, selkie, mythic, rime, hoarfrost, eldritch and 112 more...
-
Selected Terms from Falconer's New Un...
1815 edition; ed. William Burney (London: Chatham Publishing, 2006).
widows' men, ballatoon, boomkin, leefange, falconet, maculae, lepus, koff, pardo, periagua, dingass, saik and 238 more...
-
Still More Bird Wirds
A work in progress....Birds from around the world (other than endemic to North America).
barbet, hornbill, trogon, bee-eater, bristlehead, wren-babbler, stubtail, blackeye, bush warbler, cassowary, bowerbird, bird-of-paradise and 722 more...
-
.avian
cassowary, chanticleer, rook, peregrine, lark, kestrel, linnet, thrush, wren, crane, fantail, brant and 36 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for falconet.
chained_bear "A short cannon, about six feet long: this sort of ordnance was formerly used at sea."
—Falconer's New Universal Dictionary of the Marine, 1816
See also falcon. Oct 10, 2008