winghold means stability of the wings in flying; a seeming purchase of the air made by a flying bird. It carries an Arena rating of 1606, earned across 19 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, winghold ranks #1,095 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #1,140 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #1,851 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #3,039 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words.
Why “winghold” is a great word
A stable configuration of a bird's wings in flight, or a grasp taken upon a wing itself. From wing (Old Norse *vængr*) and hold (Old English *heald*), modelled on the pattern of foothold and toehold. Unlike foothold, which implies a purchase upon the solid and tangible earth, or purchase, a general term for leverage on any surface, a winghold is an aerodynamic stability—a momentary covenant with the wind. It is the precise cant of a hawk’s pinions as it locks into a thermal updraft, the delicate clutch of a fledgling’s claw upon its parent’s primary feather, or the firm but gentle grip of a falconer’s hand on a jessed wing; it is stability found not in stillness, but in the correct and constant negotiation of motion.
Etymology
From wing + hold; modelled on foothold, toehold.
noun
- Stability of the wings in flying; a seeming purchase of the air made by a flying bird.e.g.“Swerving and twisting away from the misty lower air, he rises to the first faint warmth of sun, feels delicately for winghold on the sheer fall of sky.” — 1967, J. A. Baker, The Peregrine, page 39:
- A hold or grasp of the wing.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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