Etymology

goshawk

gos·hawk
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Today it means: Any of several birds of prey, principally in the genus Accipiter. Full definition →

Middle English goshauk ← Old English gōshafoc
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromgōshafoc“goose hawk”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromgoshauk
  3. English todaygoshawk

Inherited from Middle English goshauk, from Old English gōshafoc (“goose hawk”), from gōs (“goose”) and hafoc (“hawk”). Compare also Old Norse gáshaukr and Late Middle English gosling. The bird gets its name from the fact that the birds of the species are hawks that were alleged to prey on geese.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.