Tassel-Gentle
. The tiercel is the male of the goshawk. So called because it is a tierce or third less than the female. This is true of all birds of prey. The tiercel-gentle was the class of hawk appropriate to princes. (See Hawk.)
“O for a falconer’s voice
To lure this tassel-gentle back again!”
· 
· 
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Entry taken from
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,
edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.