war hawk
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English
Etymology
Late 18th c., often attributed to Virginian Congressman John Randolph of Roanoke, but no written evidence exists.[1] Popularized in debates concerning the War of 1812. Sense "eagle" probably a calque of Old English guþhafoc
Noun
- (figurative) A proponent of war or military intrusiveness.
- 2020 January 28, Peter Baker, “For John Bolton, an ‘Upside-Down World’ After Trump Revelation”, in The New York Times:
- Suddenly, John R. Bolton, the conservative war hawk and favorite villain of the left, is the toast of Senate Democrats, the last, best hope to prove their abuse-of-power case against President Trump.
- 2024 October 17, Connor Okeeffe, “Beware of war hawks in ‘America First’ clothing”, in The Orange County Register:
- But critics of Washington’s hyper-aggressive foreign policy need to understand that the flight of many of the worst war hawks from the Republican Party does not mean the GOP has returned to its non-interventionist roots.
- (literary, dated) An eagle.
References
- ^ Ralph E. Eshelman, Scott S. Sheads (2013) “Origin of “War Hawks””, in Chesapeake Legends and Lore from the War of 1812, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN: “While Randolph is credited with having coined the phrase, there were several instances of the usage of the term in prewar newspaper articles, none attributed to Rudolph.”
