Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

gyrfalcon

/ˈd͡ʒɝˌfælkən/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.37 in modern English

Syllables: gyr-fal-con
IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɝˌfælkən/

18

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any large falcon, especially as used to fly at herons.

Obsolete

noun

Falco rusticolus, a large bird of prey that breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia.

Example Sentences

"For I obſerve, that all vvomen of your condition are like the vvomen of the Play-houſe, ſtill Piquing at each other, vvho ſhall go the beſt Dreſt, and in the Richeſt Habits: till you vvork up one another by your high flying, as the Heron and Jerfalcon do."
"[T]he usurper Buljan ordered that his sukkah be erected on the donjon's roof, with its […] relative nearness to the stars, among which his sky-worshiping and uncircumcised ancestors still hunted with infallible gyrfalcons for celestial game."

Etymology

From Old French gerfaucon (modern French gerfaut), with the first element probably from Old High German gīr (“vulture”) (whence the German Geier).

Origin

Source language: Old French

Word Breakdown

Root: gerfaucon, gīr

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈd͡ʒɝˌfælkən/
British English: /ˈdʒɜːfɔːlkən/

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

gyrfalcons (plural) gerfalcon (alternative) gyr falcon (alternative) jerfalcon (alternative)

Synonyms

gerfalcon falco rusticolus

Questions

How do you pronounce gyrfalcon?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒɝˌfælkən/.
What does gyrfalcon mean?: Any large falcon, especially as used to fly at herons.
Where does gyrfalcon come from?: It is traced to Old French.

How to pronounce gyrfalcon

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “gyrfalcon”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈd͡ʒɝˌfælkən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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