hawk.
A diurnal predatory bird of the family Accipitridae, smaller than an eagle.
Meaning & usage
A diurnal predatory bird of the family Accipitridae, smaller than an eagle.
It is illegal to hunt hawks or other raptors in many parts of the world.
Any diurnal predatory terrestrial bird of similar size and appearance to the accipitrid hawks, such as a falcon.
Any of various species of dragonfly of the genera Apocordulia and Austrocordulia, endemic to Australia.
An advocate of aggressive political positions and actions.
An uncooperative or purely selfish participant in an exchange or game, especially when untrusting, acquisitive or treacherous. Refers specifically to the prisoner's dilemma, a.k.a. the Hawk-Dove game.
Cold, sharp or biting wind.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap-der.? Proto-Germanic *habukaz Proto-West Germanic *habuk Old English hafoc Middle English hauk English hawk Inherited from Middle English hauk, hauke, hawke, havek, from Old English hafoc, from Proto-West Germanic *habuk, from Proto-Germanic *habukaz, controversially derived from Proto-Indo-European *kopuǵos, perhaps ultimately derived from *kap- (“seize”). Cognate with West Frisian hauk, German Low German Haavke, Dutch havik, German Habicht, Swedish hök, Danish høg, Norwegian Bokmål hauk, Norwegian Nynorsk hauk, Faroese heykur, Icelandic haukur, Finnish haukka, Estonian haugas; also Latin capys, capus (“bird of prey”), Albanian gabonjë, shkabë (“eagle”), Russian ко́бец (kóbec, “falcon”), Polish kobuz (“Eurasian Hobby”)).
To hunt with a hawk.
To make an attack while on the wing; to soar and strike like a hawk.
to hawk at flies
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap-der.? Proto-Germanic *habukaz Proto-West Germanic *habuk Old English hafoc Middle English hauk English hawk Inherited from Middle English hauk, hauke, hawke, havek, from Old English hafoc, from Proto-West Germanic *habuk, from Proto-Germanic *habukaz, controversially derived from Proto-Indo-European *kopuǵos, perhaps ultimately derived from *kap- (“seize”). Cognate with West Frisian hauk, German Low German Haavke, Dutch havik, German Habicht, Swedish hök, Danish høg, Norwegian Bokmål hauk, Norwegian Nynorsk hauk, Faroese heykur, Icelandic haukur, Finnish haukka, Estonian haugas; also Latin capys, capus (“bird of prey”), Albanian gabonjë, shkabë (“eagle”), Russian ко́бец (kóbec, “falcon”), Polish kobuz (“Eurasian Hobby”)).
A plasterer's tool, made of a flat surface with a handle below, used to hold an amount of plaster prior to application to the wall or ceiling being worked on: a mortarboard.
Where this word comes from
Uncertain; perhaps from Middle English hache (“battle-axe”), or from a variant use of the above, for this compare with Russian со́кол (sókol, “falcon, but also a hawk (plaster's tool), mortarboard”).
To sell; to offer for sale by outcry in the street; to carry (merchandise) about from place to place for sale; to peddle.
The vendors were hawking their wares from little tables lining either side of the market square.
Where this word comes from
Back-formation from hawker.
A noisy effort to force up phlegm from the throat.
Where this word comes from
Probably imitative, like hock (“cough”), hack (“cough”), although see the latter entry for more.
To expectorate, to cough up (something, such as mucus) from one's throat; to produce (something) by coughing or clearing one's throat.
to hawk a loogie
To try to cough up something from one's throat; to clear the throat loudly; to cough heavily, especially causing uvular frication.
Grandpa sat on the front porch, hawking and wheezing, as he packed his pipe with cheap tobacco.
Where this word comes from
Probably imitative, like hock (“cough”), hack (“cough”), although see the latter entry for more.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.