Sparrowhawk
/ˈspær.oʊˌhɔːk/noun
A small hawk of the genus Accipiter, especially one that hunts birds.
Did you know?The name is a straightforward Old English compound, not a hidden spellword, but it preserves a brutally literal image of a bird defined by what it kills.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
spearhafoc
“sparrow-hawk, a hawk that hunts sparrows”
Middle English
ME
sparhauk / sparhauke
“a small hawk, especially the bird now called a sparrowhawk”
Early Modern English
English
sparrow-hawk
“the common name for a small hunting hawk”
Modern English
English
sparrowhawk
“a small hawk of the genus Accipiter, especially one that hunts birds”