A genus of small to medium-sized hawks and sparrowhawks, known for swift, agile hunting.
From Latin 'accipiter' meaning 'hawk,' possibly related to 'accipere' (to seize) or to a proto-Indo-European root for sharp or pointed. The word passed into modern taxonomic Latin unchanged.
Romans named the hawk 'accipiter' because it 'seizes' prey, and this Latin name survived the entire evolution of biological taxonomy—when Linnaeus invented scientific names, he just kept the ancient Roman word.
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