qite

Noun

kite (plural kites)

1. A bird of prey of the family Accipitridae.
   • A pair of kites built a nest on the cliff.
   1. Any bird of the subfamily Milvinae, with long wings and weak legs, feeding mostly on carrion and spending long periods soaring; specifically, the red kite (Milvus milvus) and the black kite (Milvus migrans).
      • The milvus, or kite, is a native of Europe, Asia, and Africa. […] Its motion in the air distinguishes it from all other birds, being so smooth and even that it is scarcely perceptible.1816, G[eorge] Gregory, [Jeremiah Joyce], “FALCO”, in A Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. … In Three Volumes. […], 1st American edition, volume II, Philadelphia, Pa.: Published by Isaac Peirce, […]...
   2. A bird of the genus Elanus, having thin pointed wings, that preys on rodents and hunts by hovering; also, any bird of related genera in the subfamily Elaninae.
      • The ‘white-tailed’ kites in the genus Elanus (‘kite’) are small, gull-like, grey-and-white hawks with black forewing patches and varying amounts of black on the underwings.2019, Stephen Debus, “Small Kites, Genus Elanus”, in Birds of Prey of Australia: A Field Guide, 3rd edition, Clayton South, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing, →ISBN, part II (Handbook), page 113
   3. Some species in the subfamily Perninae.
      • The swallow-tailed kite of the New World (Elanoides forficatus) is a striking black and white bird of the subfamily Perninae. It is about 60 cm (24 inches) long, including its long forked tail. It is most common in tropical eastern South America but also occurs from Central America to the United...2011, “Selected Falconiforms”, in John P. Rafferty, editor, Meat Eaters: Raptors, Sharks, and Crocodiles (Britannica Guide to Predators and Prey), New York, N.Y.: Britannica Educational Publishing in...
2. (figuratively) A rapacious person.
   • deteſted kite, thou li[e]ſt[.] [M]y traine, and^([sic – meaning are]) men of choiſe and rareſt parts, that all particulars of dutie knowe, and in the moſt exact regard, ſupport the worſhip of their name, [...]c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […]...
3. A lightweight toy or other device, traditionally flat and shaped like a triangle with a segment of a circle attached to its base or like a quadrilateral (see sense 9), carried on the wind and tethered and controlled from the ground by one or more lines.
   • On windy spring days, we would fly kites.

See all 33 meanings of kite