buzzard

Definition

Any of several Old World birds of prey of the genus Buteo with broad wings and a broad tail.

Etymology

From Middle English bosart, from Anglo-Norman buisart, from Old French busart, busard, a derivative ( + -ard) of Old French buison, buson (French buse), possibly from Latin būteō (“hawk”).

Example Sentences

• "Perhaps the crusty old buzzard loved his only child more than anyone had given him credit for all these years — maybe even more than he himself had realized."
• "1640, George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum; or, Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, etc., in The Remains of that Sweet Singer of the Temple George Herbert, London: Pickering, 1841, p. 142, An old man’s shadow is better than a young buzzard’s sword."
• "It is common, to a proverb, to call one who can not be taught, or who continues obstinately ignorant, a buzzard."