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chickenhawk

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chickenhawk

  • /ˈt͡ʃɪkɪnˌhɔːk/

Where it comes from

From chicken + hawk. The political sense is derived from figurative meanings of “coward” and “militant” respectively.

noun chickenhawks

  1. Any of the North American hawk species (Cooper's hawk, sharp-shinned hawk and red-tailed hawk), or counterparts elsewhere, mistakenly believed to be pests.
  2. US, derogatory A draft dodger, especially in the Vietnam War, who nonetheless currently supports United States overseas military engagements.
  3. derogatory, slang An older, usually more powerful man who preys on adolescent boys for sex. For every instance of Saul's good-humoredly putting one over on the criminal justice system […] to free his younger lover from his latest legal trouble, Rogers recounts callous treatment at the hands of the older man. In addition, Sinbad suffers brutal depredations from the city's other chicken hawk

Translations

Every language

noun hawk species

Españolgavilán, azor
Françaisépervier brun
DeutschEckschwanzsperber

noun adult man who seeks out boys as his sexual partners

Españolrabo verde
日本語若専 wakasen

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Cite this
MLA

"chickenhawk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/chickenhawk. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

chickenhawk. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/chickenhawk

Chicago

"chickenhawk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/chickenhawk.

BibTeX
@misc{chickenhawk_2026,
  title = {chickenhawk},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/chickenhawk},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}