Meanings
nountercelet (plural tercelets)
plural tercelets · alternative tiercelet
- A male falcon, especially a peregrine falcon or goshawk; a tiercel.
In the Squire's Tale this is expressed in avian terms when the tercelet flies off with a kite;
1999, Geoffrey Lester, Chaucer in Perspective: Middle English Essays, page 110
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Frenchtercelet
- Middle Englishtercelet
- Englishtercelet
Inherited from Middle English tercelet, from Old French tercelet; equivalent to tiercel + -et.
More words from Middle English, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
tercelet. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tercelet
MLA
“tercelet.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tercelet. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tercelet,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tercelet.
Source: tercelet on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.