Definitions
A short strap fastened around the leg of a bird used in falconry, to which a leash may be fastened.
Word origin
From Middle English ges, from Middle French gies, from the plural of jet (“throw”), from Vulgar Latin *iectus, jectus < iactus (“a throwing”), or from jeter (“to throw”), itself from Latin iactare.
Used in a sentence
“I am that cedar; shake me not too much; And you the eagles; soar ye ne’er so high, I have the jesses that will pull you down;”
“[…] If I do prove her haggard, Though that her jesses were my dear heartstrings, I’ld whistle her off and let her down the wind, To pray at fortune.”
“If your hawk is bad-weathered, that is, will not fit on your fist when the wind blows, but hales, and beats, and hangs by the jeſſes, ſhe has an ill habit of the worſt kind.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Falconry strap”4 letters
Not quite right?
"Search similar patterns."
J___