Jessie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A short leather strap attached to a hawk's leg for tethering it to a perch ; a disparaging British slang term for a man seen as weak or effeminate
2. A thin leather thong fixed around a falcon's ankle to secure it ; an insulting informal label, mainly in Britain, for a feeble or unmanly male
3. The small leather band wrapped on a trained raptor's leg during falconry ; a demeaning British slang word applied to a boy or man considered soft or weak

Etymology: The falconry term "jessie" names the thin leather strap fastened around a hawk's leg, to which the leash is attached. Its name comes from a girl's name. "Jessie" is a diminutive of Jane, Jean and similar names, and the word was used in its extended sense for any young working-class girl. The link between a servant girl and a bird's leg strap is not explained by the source, so the connection itself is unknown to me and I leave it there.

Synonyms: sissy, wimp, milksop

Antonyms: hero