Etymology

gyrfalcon

G2Y4R1F4A1L1C3O1N1

Today it means: Any large falcon, especially as used to fly at herons. Full definition →

Old French gerfaucon ← Old High German gīr
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The story

  1. Old High German · derived fromgīr“vulture”
  2. Old French · derived fromgerfaucon
  3. English todaygyrfalcon

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.