raven

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See also: Raven and räven

English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

A raven (bird).

From Middle English raven, reven, from Old English hræfn, from Proto-West Germanic *hrabn, from Proto-Germanic *hrabnaz (“raven”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱrep-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“to croak, crow”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • enPR: rāʹvən, IPA(key): /ˈɹeɪvən/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪvən

Noun[edit]

raven (countable and uncountable, plural ravens)

  1. (countable) Any of several, generally large and lustrous black species of birds in the genus Corvus, especially the common raven, Corvus corax.
  2. A jet-black colour.
    • 1859, Ferna Vale, Natalie; or, A Gem Among the Sea-Weeds:
      A lone man walks the shores of Nantucket; his noble form is slightly bent, and with the raven of his hair is blended the faintest tinge of gray, though he is evidently a man to whom the meridian of life is yet far in the distance […]
    raven:  
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

raven (not comparable)

  1. Of the color of the raven; jet-black
    raven curls
    raven darkness
    She was a tall, sophisticated, raven-haired beauty.
Derived terms[edit]
terms derived from raven
Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English ravene, ravine, from Old French raviner (“rush, seize by force”), itself from ravine (“rapine”), from Latin rapīna (“plundering, loot”), itself from rapere (“seize, plunder, abduct”).

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

raven (plural ravens)

  1. Rapine; rapacity.
  2. Prey; plunder; food obtained by violence.
Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

raven (third-person singular simple present ravens, present participle ravening, simple past and past participle ravened)

  1. (transitive, archaic) To obtain or seize by violence.
  2. (transitive) To devour with great eagerness.
    • 1938, P.G. Woodhouse, The Code of the Woosters:
      I refer to the danger of keeping a dog of this nature and disposition in a bedroom, where it can spring out ravening on anyone who enters.
  3. (transitive) To prey on with rapacity.
    The raven is both a scavenger, who ravens a dead animal almost like a vulture, and a bird of prey, who commonly ravens to catch a rodent.
  4. (intransitive) To show rapacity; to be greedy (for something).
    • 1587, Leonard Mascall, The First Booke of Cattell, London, “The nature and qualities of hogges, and also the gouernement thereof,”[1]
      […] because hogs are commonly rauening for their meat, more then other cattel, it is meet therefore to haue them ringed, or else they wil doe much hurt in digging and turning vp corne fieldes […]
    • 1852, Elizabeth Gaskell, “The Old Nurse’s Story” in The Old Nurse’s Story and Other Tales,[2]
      They passed along towards the great hall-door, where the winds howled and ravened for their prey […]
    • 1865, Sabine Baring-Gould, The Book of Were-Wolves, London: Smith, Elder & Co., Chapter 8, p. 114,[3]
      The Greek were-wolf is closely related to the vampire. The lycanthropist falls into a cataleptic trance, during which his soul leaves his body, enters that of a wolf and ravens for blood.
    • 1931, James B. Fagan, The Improper Duchess, London: Victor Gollancz, 1932, Act 3, p. 237,[4]
      On one side the great temple where you can gather the good harvest—on the other a dirty little scandal that you’ve nosed out to fling to paper scavengers who feed it to their readin’ millions ravening for pornographic dirt.
Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from English rave.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

raven

  1. to (hold a) rave, to party wildly
Inflection[edit]
Inflection of raven (weak)
infinitive raven
past singular ravede
past participle geraved
infinitive raven
gerund raven n
present tense past tense
1st person singular rave ravede
2nd person sing. (jij) ravet ravede
2nd person sing. (u) ravet ravede
2nd person sing. (gij) ravet ravede
3rd person singular ravet ravede
plural raven raveden
subjunctive sing.1 rave ravede
subjunctive plur.1 raven raveden
imperative sing. rave
imperative plur.1 ravet
participles ravend geraved
1) Archaic.

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

raven

  1. Plural form of raaf

Anagrams[edit]

Middle Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Dutch ravan, from Proto-West Germanic *hrabn.

Noun[edit]

rāven m

  1. raven

Inflection[edit]

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Alternative forms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Dutch: raaf
    • Afrikaans: raaf
    • → Sranan Tongo: rafru
  • Limburgish: raof

Further reading[edit]

Slovene[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Slavic *orvьnъ.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

rávən (comparative rávnejši, superlative nȁjrávnejši)

  1. even, level

Inflection[edit]

Hard
masculine feminine neuter
nom. sing. ráven rávna rávno
singular
masculine feminine neuter
nominative ráven ind
rávni def 		rávna rávno
accusative nominativeinan or
genitiveanim 		rávno rávno
genitive rávnega rávne rávnega
dative rávnemu rávni rávnemu
locative rávnem rávni rávnem
instrumental rávnim rávno rávnim
dual
masculine feminine neuter
nominative rávna rávni rávni
accusative rávna rávni rávni
genitive rávnih rávnih rávnih
dative rávnima rávnima rávnima
locative rávnih rávnih rávnih
instrumental rávnima rávnima rávnima
plural
masculine feminine neuter
nominative rávni rávne rávna
accusative rávne rávne rávna
genitive rávnih rávnih rávnih
dative rávnim rávnim rávnim
locative rávnih rávnih rávnih
instrumental rávnimi rávnimi rávnimi

Alternative forms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • “raven”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
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