Eagle

Eagle Ea"gle, n. [OE. egle, F. aigle, fr. L. aquila; prob. named from its color, fr. aquilus dark-colored, brown; cf. Lith. aklas blind. Cf. {Aquiline}.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) Any large, rapacious bird of the Falcon family, esp. of the genera {Aquila} and {Hali[ae]etus}. The eagle is remarkable for strength, size, graceful figure, keenness of vision, and extraordinary flight. The most noted species are the golden eagle ({Aquila chrysa["e]tus}); the imperial eagle of Europe ({Aquila mogilnik} or {Aquila imperialis}); the American bald eagle ({Hali[ae]etus leucocephalus}); the European sea eagle ({Hali[ae]etus albicilla}); and the great harpy eagle ({Thrasaetus harpyia}). The figure of the eagle, as the king of birds, is commonly used as an heraldic emblem, and also for standards and emblematic devices. See {Bald eagle}, {Harpy}, and {Golden eagle}. [1913 Webster]

2. A gold coin of the United States, of the value of ten dollars. [1913 Webster]

3. (Astron.) A northern constellation, containing Altair, a star of the first magnitude. See {Aquila}. [1913 Webster]

4. The figure of an eagle borne as an emblem on the standard of the ancient Romans, or so used upon the seal or standard of any people. [1913 Webster]

Though the Roman eagle shadow thee. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]

Note: Some modern nations, as the United States, and France under the Bonapartes, have adopted the eagle as their national emblem. Russia, Austria, and Prussia have for an emblem a double-headed eagle. [1913 Webster]

{Bald eagle}. See {Bald eagle}.

{Bold eagle}. See under {Bold}.

{Double eagle}, a gold coin of the United States worth twenty dollars.

{Eagle hawk} (Zo["o]l.), a large, crested, South American hawk of the genus {Morphnus}.

{Eagle owl} (Zo["o]l.), any large owl of the genus {Bubo}, and allied genera; as the American great horned owl ({Bubo Virginianus}), and the allied European species ({B. maximus}). See {Horned owl}.

{Eagle ray} (Zo["o]l.), any large species of ray of the genus {Myliobatis} (esp. {M. aquila}).

{Eagle vulture} (Zo["o]l.), a large West African bid ({Gypohierax Angolensis}), intermediate, in several respects, between the eagles and vultures. [1913 Webster]