Definition of "accipiter" [ac•cip•i•ter]

• A hawk of the genus Accipiter, characterized by short wings and a long tail. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Response: This is an adult Brahminy kite, Haliastur indus, a medium-sized accipiter."
• "UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There he goes, an accipiter (ph) flying right."
• "Introivit hic quis accipiter, columba exit; introivit lupus, ovis egreditur, &c. 6777."