To engage in bird-catching or fowling; to hunt birds or trap them for sport or profit.
From Latin 'aucupari' (to hunt birds), derived from 'avis' (bird) and 'capere' (to catch), literally meaning 'to catch birds'; the '-ate' suffix makes it a verb in English.
Medieval and Renaissance nobles spent enormous amounts of time 'aucupating'—hunting birds with elaborate techniques using falcons, nets, and calls—which was basically their version of golf as a status activity!
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