Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A peregrine falcon.
  • adjective Roving or wandering.
  • adjective Archaic Foreign; alien.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Foreign; not native.
  • Migratory, as a bird; coming from foreign parts; roving or wandering: specifically noting a kind of falcon, Falco peregrinus.
  • In astrology, not exerting a strong influence; void of essential dignities.
  • noun A foreign sojourner or resident in any state; a resident or subject not in possession of civil rights.
  • noun The peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The peregrine falcon.
  • adjective Foreign; not native; extrinsic or from without; exotic.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) a courageous and swift falcon (Falco peregrinus), remarkable for its wide distribution over all the continents. The adult plumage is dark bluish ash on the back, nearly black on the head and cheeks, white beneath, barred with black below the throat. Called also peregrine hawk, duck hawk, game hawk, and great-footed hawk.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Wandering, travelling, migratory.
  • adjective not native to a region or country; foreign; alien.
  • noun The peregrine falcon.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective migratory
  • noun a widely distributed falcon formerly used in falconry

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin peregrīnus, wandering, pilgrim, from Latin, foreigner, from pereger, being abroad : per-, through; see per– + ager, land; see agro- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Via Old French (Modern French pérégrin), from Latin peregrinus ("foreign"), from peregre ("abroad"), from per- + agri ("field, farm") (from which English agri- ("farming")).

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word peregrine.

Examples

  • Because if anything, a peregrine is cooler than an eagle.

    A couple bird cams! : #comments 2007

  • These include parrots, wrens, thornbills and raptors such as peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus.

    Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia 2008

  • In addition, the researchers are investigating birds that are particularly fast fliers, such as peregrine falcons; those with acrobatic talents, such as swifts and house martins; those that can hover through powered flight, such as kingfishers; and birds that can fly backward, such as hummingbirds.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • In addition, the researchers are investigating birds that are particularly fast fliers, such as peregrine falcons; those with acrobatic talents, such as swifts and house martins; those that can hover through powered flight, such as kingfishers; and birds that can fly backward, such as hummingbirds.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • The name "peregrine" means wanderer, and the peregrine falcon has one of the longest migrations of any North American bird.

    Daytona Beach News-Journal Online 2009

  • The name "peregrine" means wanderer, and the peregrine falcon has one of the longest migrations of any North American bird.

    Daytona Beach News-Journal Online 2009

  • For Tom Litteral, an avid bird watcher in Steamboat Springs, those moments often involve birds of prey, such as peregrine falcons, diving at speeds as many as 225 miles per hour to strike victims in midair.

    Craig Daily Press stories 2009

  • The name "peregrine" means wanderer, and the peregrine falcon has one of the longest migrations of any North American bird.

    Daytona Beach News-Journal Online 2009

  • The name "peregrine" means wanderer, and the peregrine falcon has one of the longest migrations of any North American bird.

    Daytona Beach News-Journal Online 2009

  • The name "peregrine" means wanderer, and the peregrine falcon has one of the longest migrations of any North American bird.

    Daytona Beach News-Journal Online 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • ADJECTIVE: 1. Foreign; alien. 2. Roving or wandering; migratory.

    NOUN: A peregrine falcon.

    ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin peregrnus, wandering, pilgrim, from Latin, foreigner, from pereger, being abroad : per-, through; see per– + ager, land; see agro- in Appendix I.

    May 25, 2007

  • Also an astrological term:

    "A planet is defined as peregrine when it has no level of rulership over its position. That is, it is not placed in the sign(s) that it rules, nor those where it is exalted, nor does it rule the triplicity, or the terms or face where it is located. (See: Ptolemy's Table of Essential Dignities)

    Such a planet is therefore seen as having little influence or control over its environment. In symbolic terms, it describes a drifter - someone with no title or stake in his or her environment. In matters of theft, for example, peregrine planets fall under suspicion in the same way that strangers are often viewed with suspicion. In other matters it might portray someone who lacks a clear sense of focus, a sense of feeling 'lost' or on the outside of community thinking; or an inability to identify clear goals or offer resolute commitments to others."

    May 25, 2007

  • adj: having a tendency to wander (from Merriam-Webster.)

    July 8, 2008

  • reminds me to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Pellegrina from the Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    January 28, 2018