chicken hawk
- noun
- /ˈtʃɪkɪn hɔk/
:
gavilán
- Farmers often worry that a chicken hawk will attack their poultry.
Examples
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The farmer spotted a chicken hawk circling above his flock.
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The presence of a chicken hawk caused the hens to scatter in fright.
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Many people mistakenly call all large raptors chicken hawks even if they don't eat chickens.
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Many chicken hawks are known for their hunting skills.
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Farmers often worry that a chicken hawk will attack their poultry.
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The presence of a chicken hawk caused the hens to scatter in fright.
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The farmer spotted a chicken hawk circling above his flock.
Synonyms
9
3.8
A bird that hunts and eats other animals, like eagles or hawks
1
5.1
A small bird with short wings and a long tail that hunts small birds in woods
A bird that kills and eats chickens
A small hunting bird that catches other birds like pigeons
Surface Forms
Morphology
The political pejorative sense of 'chicken hawk' cannot be derived from the literal meanings of 'chicken' (a domesticated fowl) and 'hawk' (a bird); it depends on knowing figurative uses—'hawk' = bellicose/policy advocate and 'chicken' = coward—which B1 learners who only know the constituents' literal meanings are unlikely to infer. The compound is culturally and metaphorically specialized rather than compositionally predictable.
Etymology
The name chicken hawk comes from farmers who watched a hawk carry off chickens from a yard or coop. So, the phrase means 'a hawk that attacks chickens'.