- Original: תּחמס - Transliteration: Tachmac - Phonetic: takh-mawce' - Definition: 1. a ceremonially unclean bird a. a name of the male ostrich b. (CLBL) probably the great owl c. perhaps an extinct bird, exact meaning unknown - Origin: from H2554 - TWOT entry: 678b - Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine - Strong's: From H2554 ; a species of unclean bird (from its violence) perhaps an owl: - night hawk. Total KJV Occurrences: 2 • hawk, 2 Leviticus 11:16; Deuteronomy 14:15