accipiter

noun

ac·cip·i·ter | \ ak-ˈsi-pə-tər

, ik-\

Definition of accipiter

: any of a genus (Accipiter) of medium-sized forest-inhabiting hawks that have short broad wings and a long tail and a characteristic flight pattern of several quick flaps and a glide

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Examples of accipiter in a Sentence

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These hawks are accipiters: raptors evolved specifically to hunt in the woodland canopy. — Dave Taft, New York Times, "Little Terror of the Flyway," 19 Oct. 2017 All accipiters, including the sharp-shinned hawk, and its close relative the Cooper’s hawk, have distinctive flight patterns that are useful in identifying them, even at a distance. — Dave Taft, New York Times, "Little Terror of the Flyway," 19 Oct. 2017

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History and Etymology for accipiter

borrowed from New Latin, going back to Latin, "hawk, falcon," altered (probably by assimilation to accipere "to grasp, take, accept") from pre-Latin *acu-petri- "having swift wings," from *acu- (akin to Latin ōcior "swifter," Greek ōkýs "swift") + *petri- (akin to Sanskrit patram "wing, feather") — more at feather entry 1