/ · 1894 Brewer’s · K · Kestrel
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
A hawk of a base breed, hence a worthless fellow. Also used as an adjective.
“No thought of honour ever did assay
His baser brest; but in his kestrell kynd
A pleasant veine of glory he did find …”
Spenser: Faërie Queene, book ii. canto iii. 3.
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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.
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