Hawk , n. (Masonry) A small board, with a handle
on the under side, to hold mortar.
Hawk boy, an attendant on a plasterer to supply him
with mortar.
Hawk , v. t. [Akin to D. hauker a hawker, G.
höken, höcken, to higgle, to retail, höke, höker, a higgler, huckster. See Huckster.]
To offer for sale by outcry in the
street; to carry (merchandise) about from place to place for sale; to peddle; as, to
hawk goods or pamphlets.
His works were hawked in every street.
Swift.
Hawk , n. [W. hoch.]
An effort to force up phlegm from the throat, accompanied with noise.
Hawk , v. t. To raise by hawking, as phlegm.
Hawk , v. i. [W. hochi.]
To clear the throat with an audible sound by forcing an
expiratory current of air through the narrow passage between the depressed soft palate and the root of the tongue, thus aiding in the removal of foreign substances.
Hawk (h&add;k), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Hawked (h&add;kt); p. pr. & vb. n. Hawking.]
1. To catch, or attempt to catch, birds by means of hawks trained for the purpose, and let loose
on the prey;
to practice falconry.
A falconer Henry is, when Emma hawks.
Prior. 2. To make an attack while on the wing; to soar and strike like a
hawk; -- generally with at; as, to hawk at flies.
Dryden.
A falcon, towering in her pride
of place,
Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed.
Shak.
Hawk (h&add;k), n. [OE.
hauk (prob. fr. Icel.), havek, AS.
hafoc, heafoc; akin to D. havik, OHG. habuh,
G. habicht, Icel. haukr, Sw. hök, Dan.
hög, prob. from the root
of E. heave.]
(Zoöl.)
One of numerous species and genera of
rapacious birds of the family Falconidæ. They differ from the true falcons in lacking the prominent tooth and notch of
the bill, and in having
shorter and less pointed wings. Many are of large
size and grade into the eagles. Some, as the goshawk, were formerly trained like falcons.
In a more general sense the word is not infrequently applied,
also, to true falcons, as the sparrow hawk, pigeon hawk, duck hawk, and prairie hawk.
&fist; Among the common American species are the red-tailed hawk (Buteo
borealis); the red-shouldered (B.
lineatus); the broad-winged (B. Pennsylvanicus);
the rough-legged (Archibuteo lagopus); the sharp-shinned (Accipiter fuscus). See
Fishhawk, Goshawk, Marsh hawk, under Marsh, Night hawk, under Night.
Bee hawk (Zoöl.), the honey buzzard. -- Eagle hawk. See under Eagle. --
Hawk eagle
(Zoöl.), an Asiatic bird of the genus
Spizætus, or Limnætus, intermediate between the hawks and eagles. There are several species. --
Hawk fly (Zoöl.), a voracious fly of the family
Asilidæ. See Hornet fly, under Hornet. --
Hawk moth.
(Zoöl.) See Hawk moth, in the Vocabulary. -- Hawk
owl. (Zoöl.)
(a) A northern owl (Surnia ulula) of Europe and America. It flies by day, and in some respects resembles the hawks. (b)
An owl of
India (Ninox scutellatus). -- Hawk's bill
(Horology), the
pawl for the rack, in the striking mechanism of a clock.
Hear it pronounced