peregrine

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the peregrine falcon, a powerful and widely distributed bird of prey noted for its extremely fast dive

   A female peregrine returned to the cliff with prey for her young.

2. 2
   adj

   literary or rare: wandering, migratory, or foreign

   The essay follows a peregrine scholar who travels from court to court.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Peregrine goes back to Latin peregrinus, meaning “foreign” or “alien,” the same source as pilgrim and peregrinate. The peregrine falcon was called the “pilgrim falcon” because falconers caught fully grown birds during migration rather than taking them from nests.

From Middle English peregrin, through Old French from Latin peregrinus, 'foreign or from abroad.' The falcon was so named for its wandering or migratory habits. Peregrine and pilgrim are doublets descended from the same Latin word.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary