hawk

Etymology 1

From Middle English hauk, hauke, hawke, havek, from Old English hafoc (“hawk”), from Proto-West Germanic *habuk, from Proto-Germanic *habukaz (compare West Frisian hauk, German Low German Haavke, Dutch havik, German Habicht, Swedish hök, Danish høg, Norwegian Bokmål hauk, Norwegian Nynorsk hauk, Faroese heykur, Icelandic haukur), from Proto-Indo-European *kopuǵos (compare Latin capys, capus (“bird of prey”), Albanian gabonjë, shkabë (“eagle”), Russian ко́бец (kóbec, “falcon”), Polish kobuz (“Eurasian Hobby”)), perhaps ultimately derived from *keh₂p- (“seize”).

noun

1. A diurnal predatory bird of the family Accipitridae, smaller than an eagle.
   It is illegal to hunt hawks or other raptors in many parts of the world.
2. Any diurnal predatory terrestrial bird of similar size and appearance to the accipitrid hawks, such as a falcon.
3. (entomology) Any of various species of dragonfly of the genera Apocordulia and Austrocordulia, endemic to Australia.
4. (politics) An advocate of aggressive political positions and actions.
   A hawk by nature, Ellenborough strongly favoured presenting St Petersburg with an ultimatum warning that any further incursions into Persia would be regarded as a hostile act. 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 106
   “Everybody knows who were the hawks and who were the doves,” Bundy told the ExComm on the morning of October 28, after Khrushchev announced that he was withdrawing his missiles. “Today was the day of the doves.” 2012-10-11 [1962], Michael Dobbs, quoting McGeorge Bundy, “The original hawks and doves”, in Foreign Policy
   President Donald Trump has spent years playing the role of a China hawk. 2019, “The World in 2020”, in The Economist
5. (game theory) An uncooperative or purely-selfish participant in an exchange or game, especially when untrusting, acquisitive or treacherous. Refers specifically to the Prisoner's Dilemma, alias the Hawk-Dove game.

verb

1. (transitive) To hunt with a hawk.
   He rode astride while hawking; she falconed in the ladylike position of sidesaddle. 2003, Brenda Joyce, House of Dreams, page 175
2. (intransitive) To make an attack while on the wing; to soar and strike like a hawk.
   to hawk at flies
   Dollarbirds hawk from high bare branches. 1999, Simpson and Day, The Birds of Australia, page 366

Etymology 2

Uncertain; perhaps from Middle English hache (“battle-axe”), or from a variant use of the above.

noun

1. A plasterer's tool, made of a flat surface with a handle below, used to hold an amount of plaster prior to application to the wall or ceiling being worked on: a mortarboard.

Etymology 3

Back-formation from hawker.

verb

1. (transitive) To sell; to offer for sale by outcry in the street; to carry (merchandise) about from place to place for sale; to peddle.
   The vendors were hawking their wares from little tables lining either side of the market square.
   His works were hawked in every street. 1713, Jonathan Swift, Imitation of Horace, Book I. Ep. VII

Etymology 4

Onomatopoeic.

noun

1. A noisy effort to force up phlegm from the throat.

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To expectorate, to cough up something from one's throat.
2. (transitive, intransitive) To try to cough up something from one's throat; to clear the throat loudly.
   Grandpa sat on the front porch, hawking and wheezing, as he packed his pipe with cheap tobacco.