A term of unclear or possibly archaic origin; may refer to a door-related device, tool, or a type of bird, or may be a rare dialectal word.
From 'door' + 'hawk' (Old English 'heafoc'). This compound is obscure and may be dialectal, occupational, ornithological, or simply archaic with lost context.
Some words are lost even before they're recorded—doorhawk might be a perfectly logical compound that made sense to medieval craftspeople (maybe a tool for hanging doors?) but whose meaning died with the trade.
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