From Latin 'aquila' via Old French — replaced native Old English 'earn,' which survives only in 'erne' and place names.
A large bird of prey with a massive hooked bill and broad wings, renowned for its keen sight and powerful flight.
From Old French "aigle" (eagle), from Latin "aquila" (eagle), of uncertain ultimate etymology but possibly from PIE *h₂ekʷ- (sharp, pointed) referring to the bird's beak or talons, or from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean substrate. Some scholars connect it to Latin "aquilus" (dark-coloured), suggesting the name referred to the bird's dark plumage. The Latin word displaced the native Old English "earn" (eagle, from Proto-Germanic
The native English word for eagle was 'earn' or 'erne' (Old English 'earn'), cognate with Gothic 'ara' and Greek 'ornis' (bird). It was displaced by the French 'eagle' after the Norman Conquest. 'Erne' survives as the name for the white-tailed eagle. Meanwhile, German 'Adler' (eagle) is a contraction