austringer

austringer — noun

1. a person who trains and cares for goshawks, using them to hunt wild birds and sm

1.noun
Definition

a person who trains and cares for goshawks, using them to hunt wild birds and small animals

Example

Bao learned the skills of an austringer from his grandfather in the mountain village.

countable noun with article 'an'

The austringer held the goshawk steady on the thick leather glove that covered his arm.

collocation: austringer + holds/keeps goshawk on glove

Common collocations
  • keep goshawks
  • train goshawks
  • fly a goshawk
  • work as an austringer
  • the austringer's glove
Synonyms
  • falconer

    more general term for anyone who hunts with birds of prey; 'austringer' is the exact word for a goshawk keeper

  • hawker

    archaic term for someone who hunts with hawks, now rare and easily confused with 'hawker' meaning a street seller

Usage Note

This term is more specific than 'falconer'. A falconer works with falcons; an austringer works only with goshawks. The word is rare in everyday speech and appears mostly in historical or specialist falconry texts.

Common Mistakes

The austringer trained a peregrine falcon to hunt.
The austringer trained a goshawk to hunt.
an austringer works specifically with goshawks, not falcons.

Word family

  • goshawk
    noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These three words all describe people who work with birds of prey, but they differ in specificity. 'Austringer' is the narrowest term — it refers only to someone who keeps and trains goshawks (Accipiter gentilis). 'Falconer' is broader and more common; it can describe anyone who hunts with any bird of prey, though technically it refers to someone who works with falcons (genus Falco). 'Hawker' is an older term that originally meant someone who hunts with hawks (broad-winged birds of the family Accipitridae), but today it is rarely used in this sense because 'hawker' more commonly means a street vendor. In modern falconry writing, 'austringer' is the precise term when the bird in question is a goshawk, while 'falconer' may serve as a general label for the profession.

austringer ↗falconerhawker ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • keep goshawks
  • train a goshawk
  • work as an austringer

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'austringer' comes from Middle English 'ostringer' or 'austringer', which was borrowed from Old French 'ostricier' (keeper of goshawks). The Old French word traces back to Latin 'accipiter' (hawk, bird of prey), via the root 'astur-' or 'ostur-' meaning goshawk. The spelling with 'au-' in Modern English reflects influence from Latin 'accipiter' and perhaps the name of the city Auster (a region linked to the goshawk trade in medieval times).