Talon
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talon¹
- /ˈtælən/
Rhymes with -ælən
Where it comes from
From Middle English talon, taloun, from Old French talon (“heel, spur”), from Medieval Latin tālōnem, from Proto-Romance *tālōnis, from Latin tālus (“ankle”).
noun talons
- A sharp, hooked claw of a bird of prey or other predatory animal. and now doth gaſtly death With greedie talients gripe my bleeding hart, And like a Harpye tires on my life.
- One of certain small prominences on the hind part of the face of an elephant's tooth.
- A kind of moulding, concave at the bottom and convex at the top; an ogee. (When the concave part is at the top, it is called an inverted talon.)
- The shoulder of the bolt of a lock on which the key acts to shoot the bolt. The locks were constructed with two or three levers, and sometimes with a common tumbler. The talon is the secret; for after locking the bolt out, the key is turned round again quietly to catch the nib and force the talon up
- The remaining stock of undealt cards.
- A document that could be detached and presented in exchange for a block of further coupons on a bond, when the original block had been used up.
Talon²
Where it comes from
The surname derives from Old French talon (“heel”) as a nickname for a deformity, or for a swift runner; also diminutive of Talbot and Talleyrand. The modern given name is associated with English talon.
proper noun
- A surname transferred from the nickname.
- A male given name from English of modern usage. 'Very well, I shall call you Talon from now on. What does the name mean, in the tongue of the small folk?' 'It is a claw, like that found on a hawk,' Talon said.
