English
hawk
Hawk may come from Middle English hauk.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500haukuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512hawk
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500haukuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512hawk
Earliest quotation: c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood: “He made his hawke to fly, With hogeous showte…”
The story
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’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘seize’
had, case, head, except, capital, heavy, cash, captain, catch, accept, receive, capacity, escape, capable, achieve, cable, heavily, behavior, capture, chapter, cape, chef, recipe, reception, occupation, perception, cattle, cabin, chase, capitol, recipient, capita, haven, anticipation, anticipate, chapel, caption, behave, captive, capsule, 177 more
Another origin of hawk
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hapjǭuncertain
- Frankishc. 250–700*happjāuncertain
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*happiauncertain
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400hache‘axe’uncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘battle-axe’uncertain
- Englishtodayhawk
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”).uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.
Today it means
noun A diurnal predatory bird of the family Accipitridae, smaller than an eagle.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English hauk / hawk