crow

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English [edit]

A bird; a crow: American crow
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Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

Middle English crowe, from Old English crāwe, from Proto-Germanic *krāwō (compare West Frisian krie, Dutch kraai, German Krähe), from *krāhanan ‘to crow’. See below.

Noun [edit]

crow (plural crows)

  1. A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles; it has a harsh, croaking call.
    • 1922, E.R. Eddison, The Worm Ouroborus
      Gaslark in his splendour on the golden stairs saying adieu to those three captains and their matchless armament foredoomed to dogs and crows on Salapanta Hills.
  2. A bar of iron with a beak, crook, or claw; a bar of iron used as a lever; a crowbar.
    • 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society 1985, p. 267:
      He approached the humble tomb in which Antonia reposed. He had provided himself with an iron crow and a pick-axe: but this precaution was unnecessary.
  3. The cry of the rooster.
Synonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
See also [edit]
Translations [edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Etymology 2 [edit]

Middle English crowen, from Old English crāwan, from Proto-Germanic *krāhanan (compare Dutch kraaien, German krähen), from Proto-Indo-European *greh₂- ‘to caw, croak’ (compare Lithuanian gróti, Russian граять (grájat')). Related to croak.

Verb [edit]

crow (third-person singular simple present crows, present participle crowing, simple past crowed or crew (Br. Eng. sense 1 only), past participle crowed)

  1. To make the shrill sound characteristic of a rooster; to make a sound in this manner, either in joy, gaiety, or defiance.
    • 1962, Bob Dylan, Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
      When your rooster crows at the break o' dawn
      Look out your windo' and I'll be gone
      You're the reason I'm a travelin' on
      But don't think twice, it's all right.
  2. To shout in exultation or defiance; to brag.
  3. To utter a sound expressive of joy or pleasure.
Translations [edit]