staniel means the kestrel or windhover. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 90 out of 100.
staniel is pronounced /ˈstænjəl/.
Why “staniel” is a great word
STANIEL — [Noun] A kestrel, a small falcon; historically, a contemptuous term for a person. From Middle English staniel, from Old English stānġilla, stānġella (literally "rock-crier"), from stān ("stone, rock") + ġella ("yeller, crier"). Unlike the noble "falcon," a general term for prized raptors of the chase, or the scavenging "kite," a separate family with forked tails, the staniel is the common falcon, its name a testament to its cry and its stony perch. It is the russet back trembling against a grey sky, the sharp "kik-kik-kik" from a church spire, and the archaic insult hurled at one deemed as shrill and commonplace as the bird itself—a name that binds a wild cry to the hard, unyielding earth from which it calls.
Etymology
From Middle English staniel (“bird of prey”), from Old English stānġilla, stānġella (“staniel, pelican”, literally “rock-crier”), from stān (“stone, rock”) + ġella (“yeller, crier”). More at stone, yell.
noun
- The kestrel or windhover.