Fauconer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who keeps, trains and flies hawks or falcons for the sport of hunting game birds
2. Someone skilled in managing trained birds of prey that are flown to catch quarry in the field
3. An individual who handles and trains falcons or hawks, a practitioner of the traditional sport of falconry

Etymology: Fauconer is the Middle English form of falconer, a word that entered English through Old French "fauconier," formed from "faucon" (falcon) with the agent suffix "-ier," meaning one who handles or keeps the thing named. The falcon itself came into Old French from Late Latin "falconem," and its ultimate origin is uncertain, with some scholars linking it to Latin "falx" (sickle), a reference to the bird's curved talons or wings. The Old French word was itself a development from Late Latin, and English adopted the form during the Middle Ages, when hunting with trained hawks and falcons was a prized aristocratic pastime. Spelling in English settled over time, and the "au" in fauconer gave way to the simpler "a" of the modern form, while the "u" disappeared with it.