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kestrel

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
11
Words With Friends
12
Letters
7
Pronunciation
/ˈkɛstɹəl/

Definition of kestrel

2 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. Any of various small falcons of the genus Falco that hover while hunting.
    “When she was musing she was a kestrel, which hangs in the air by an invisible motion of its wings.”
    “Up on the downs the red-eyed kestrels hover, Eyeing the grass. The field mouse flits like a shadow into cover As their shadows pass.”
See all 2 definitions

noun

  1. Any of various small falcons of the genus Falco that hover while hunting.
    “When she was musing she was a kestrel, which hangs in the air by an invisible motion of its wings.”
    “Up on the downs the red-eyed kestrels hover, Eyeing the grass. The field mouse flits like a shadow into cover As their shadows pass.”
  2. A common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From Middle English castrel (“staniel, bird of prey”), from Middle French cresserelle, crecerelle (“bird of prey”), usually assumed to be from crecelle (“rattle, wooden reel”) (modern crécelle), of obscure origin.…

See full etymology

From Middle English castrel (“staniel, bird of prey”), from Middle French cresserelle, crecerelle (“bird of prey”), usually assumed to be from crecelle (“rattle, wooden reel”) (modern crécelle), of obscure origin. Cognates possibly include: Medieval Latin clisterella f, French crécerelle f and cristel m, Neapolitan castariello m and crestariello m, all sharing the same meaning. Derivation from the assumed Vulgar Latin *crepicella, *crepitacillum, a diminutive of crepitāculum, from crepitāre (“to crackle”) is difficult to explain from a morphological point of view. Instead, possibly from a root *krek-, *krak- (“to crack, rattle, creak, emit a bird cry”), from Middle Dutch crāken (“to creak, crack”), from Old Dutch *krakōn (“to crack, creak, emit a cry”), from Proto-West Germanic *krakōn (“to emit a cry, shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerg- (“to shout”). Cognate with Old High German krahhōn (“to make a sound, crash”), Old English cracian (“to resound”), French craquer (“to emit a repeated cry, used of birds”). More at creak, crack.

Anagrams of kestrel

5 plays · some not in Scrabble

Best play kelters 11 points

Words you can make from kestrel

95 playable · top: KELTERS (11 pts)

Best play kelters 11 points

7-letter words

1 word

6-letter words

4 words

5-letter words

27 words

4-letter words

34 words

3-letter words

22 words

2-letter words

6 words

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