talon
/ˈtælən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.97 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A sharp, hooked claw of a bird of prey or other predatory animal.
noun
One of certain small prominences on the hind part of the face of an elephant's tooth.
noun
A kind of moulding, concave at the bottom and convex at the top; an ogee. (When the concave part is at the top, it is called an inverted talon.)
noun
A document that could be detached and presented in exchange for a block of further coupons on a bond, when the original block had been used up.
name
A surname transferred from the nickname.
name
A male given name from English of modern usage.
Example Sentences
- "and now doth gaſtly death With greedie talients gripe my bleeding hart, And like a Harpye tires on my life."
- "It may be tried also whether birds may not have something done to them when they are young , whereby they may be made to have greater or longer bills , or greater and longer talons ?"
- "The locks were constructed with two or three levers, and sometimes with a common tumbler. The talon is the secret; for after locking the bolt out, the key is turned round again quietly to catch the nib and force the talon up"
- "'Very well, I shall call you Talon from now on. What does the name mean, in the tongue of the small folk?' 'It is a claw, like that found on a hawk,' Talon said."
Etymology
From Middle English talon, taloun, from Old French talon (“heel, spur”), from Medieval Latin tālōnem, from Proto-Romance *tālōnis, from Latin tālus (“ankle”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: talon, tālōnem, *tālōnis, tālus