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raven

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Raven and räven

English

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WOTD – 29 January 2026
A common raven (Corvus corax) (etymology 1, noun sense 1).

Etymology 1

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    From Middle English raven, reven (“raven (Corvus corax); carrion crow (Corvus corone); rook (Corvus frugilegus) (?); the constellation Corvus; gall nuts of the Aleppo oak (Quercus infectoria) used to make black ink”),[1] from Old English hræfn (“raven”),[2] from Proto-West Germanic *hrabn (“raven”), from Proto-Germanic *hrabnaz (“raven”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *ḱrep- (“to crackle; to rattle”) or *ḱer- (“to croak, crow”), probably ultimately onomatopoeic, referring to the bird’s call.[3]

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    Wikidata has a Lexeme related to:

    raven (countable and uncountable, plural ravens)

    2. (countable) Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).
      Hypernyms: bird, corvid
      2. (uncountable) A jet-black, often glossy, colour, like that of the plumage of a raven (etymology 1 sense 1).
        raven:  
        Near-synonyms: ebony, onyx
        • 1859, Ferna Vale, “Alone”, in Natalie; or, A Gem among the Sea-weeds, Andover, Mass.: […] W[arren] F. Draper, →OCLC, page 314:
          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; […]
      3. (archaic, countable) Usually preceded by a descriptive word: a bird from a genus other than Corvus that resembles the raven (etymology 1 sense 1), especially in having black plumage; also, an imaginary black bird.
        • 1678, Francis Willughby, “Birds of the Crow-kind”, in John Ray, transl., The Ornithology of Francis Willughby  […] Wherein All the Birds hitherto Known, Being Reduced into a Method Sutable to Their Natures, are Accurately Described. […], London: […] A[ndrew] C[lark] for John Martyn, printer to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, book II (Of Land-fowl), 2nd part (Of Birds with Streighter or Less Hooked Bills), §. VIII, page 127:
          The horned Indian Raven or Topau, called the Rhinoceros Bird [section heading]. This horned Bird as it caſts a ſtrong ſmell, ſo it hath a foul look, much exceeding the European Raven in bigneſs.
        • 1791, Oliver Goldsmith, “Of the Auk, Puffin, and Other Birds of the Penguin Kind”, in An History of the Earth, and Animated Nature. […], new edition, volume VI, London: […] F[rancis] Wingrave, successor to Mr. [John] Nourse, […], →OCLC, pages 92–93:
          VVhen the great ſea-raven, as Jacobſon informs us, comes to take avvay their young, the puffins boldly oppoſe him. […] As ſoon as the raven approaches, the puffin catches him under the throat vvith its beak, and ſticks its clavvs into his breaſt, vvhich makes the raven, vvith a loud ſcreaming, attempt to get avvay; […]
        • 1808 (date written), Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Victoria”, in William Michael Rossetti, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley: […], revised edition, volume II, London: E[dward] Moxon, Son, & Co., […], published 1870, →OCLC, stanza I, page 500:
          Along the wild mountains night-ravens were yelling— / They bodingly presaged destruction and woe.
      5. (historical, countable) A flag bearing a raven (etymology 1 sense 1), formerly used by some Viking leaders
        1. (uncountable, metonymic) preceded by the: Viking military power.
      6. (chiefly fiction, countable) A person, especially a man, with black hair.
        Coordinate term: (rare) ravenette
    3. (countable, figurative, obsolete) A person who brings bad news or makes pessimistic predictions.
    Hyponyms
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    corvids
    Derived terms
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    Translations
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    See also
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    Adjective

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    raven (not comparable)

    1. (chiefly of hair) Of the jet-black and often glossy colour of the plumage of a raven (etymology 1, noun sense 1).
      Near-synonyms: ebony, onyx
      raven curls    raven darkness
      She was a tall, sophisticated, raven-haired beauty.
    Derived terms
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    Translations
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    Etymology 2

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      A variant of ravin, from Middle English ravin, ravine, raven (noun).[4]

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      raven (uncountable)

      1. Alternative spelling of ravin.

      Adjective

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      raven (comparative more raven, superlative most raven)

      1. (obsolete) Alternative spelling of ravin.

      Verb

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

      1. Alternative spelling of ravin.
        1. (transitive)
          1. (archaic) Sometimes followed by away or from: to obtain or seize (something, especially property) by force or violence; to plunder.
            • 1560 October 5 (Gregorian calendar), John Sledaine [i.e., Johannes Sleidanus], “The .XXIJ. Booke”, in Ihon [i.e., John] Daus, transl., A Famouse Cronicle of Oure Time, Called Sleidanes Commentaries, Concerning the State of Religion and Commonwealth, during the Raigne of the Emperour Charles the Fift, […], London: […] Ihon Daye, for Abraham Veale, and Nicholas England, →OCLC, folios ccclv, verso – ccclvj, recto:
              [They] aſſaulted by night a certen aũciẽt [auncient] gentleman at home in his owne houſe, which had done thē [them] no diſpleaſure, and being a ſlepe in his bed at their cõming [comming], whan he had hardly eſcaped awaye half naked, rauening and diſtroying his goodes, they ſpoyled his wyfe and chyldren of all theyr apparell, and threatening them ofte with death, left thẽ [them] ſtarck naked, in ſo muche that one of the Nobilitie comming thither by chaunce, couered the woman with his owne garment.
          2. (archaic) Sometimes followed by down, up, or (obsolete) in: to eat (something, such as food or prey) greedily; to devour, to wolf down.
          3. (figurative) To absorb or take in (something, such as information) greedily; also, to approach or pounce on (someone) like prey.
        2. (intransitive)
          1. Followed by about, after, or for: to go after or seek for something, especially booty or spoils; to maraud, to plunder; also (generally), to move about wildly and cause damage; to rampage.
            • 1610 October, John Foxe, The Second Volume of the Ecclesiasticall Historie, Containing the Acts and Monuments of Martyrs, […], 6th edition, volume II, London: […] [Humphrey Lownes] for the Company of Stationers, →OCLC, book VII, page 877, column 2:
              [T]he ſouldiours not yet ſatisfied with ſpoiling and ſacking the reſt that they found in the ſaid Tailleret, raging about the confines thereof, rauened and made hauocke on euery ſide, of whatſoeuer they could lay hands on, taking priſoners both men and women, which were loden with carriage.
            • 1670, [Guillaume] Girard, “The Ninth Book”, in Charles Cotton, transl., The History of the Life of the Duke of Espernon, the Great Favourite of France. […], London: […] E. Cotes, and A. Clark, for Henry Brome, […], →OCLC, 3rd part, page 442:
              [T]he Inhabitants of the Countrey, a barbarous and inhumane people (as generally Sea-borderers are) and inur'd to the ſpoil of VVracks, vvere not over haſty to acquaint the Duke's Officers vvith this, that they might not be diſturbed vvhilst buſie ravening after Booty.
            • 1865, Thomas Carlyle, “[Leopold Joseph von] Daun in Wrestle with Friedrich in the Silesian Hills”, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume V, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book XVIII, pages 92–93:
              A scandal to be seen, how his Croats and loose hordes went openly ravening about, bent on mere housebreaking, street-robbery and insolent violence.
          2. To eat greedily; also, followed by on or upon: of an animal: to prey on.
          3. Sometimes followed by about or on: to move about searching for food or prey ravenously.
          4. Sometimes followed by after or for: to have a ravenous appetite or craving for food or prey.
            • 1587, Leonard Mascall, “The Nature and Qualities of Hogges, & also the Gouernement thereof”, in The First Booke of Cattell. Wherein is Shewed, the Gouernement of Oxen, Kine, and Calues, and How to Vse Buls and Other Cattell to the Yoke, and Fell. […], London: […] Nicholas Okes for Iohn Harison, […], published 1610, →OCLC, page 273:
              [B]ecause hogs are commonly rauening for their meat, more then other cattel, it is meet therefore to haue them ringed, or elſe they will doe much hurt in digging and turning vp corne fieldes, […]
            • 1852 December, [Elizabeth Gaskell], “The Old Nurse’s Story”, in Lizzie Leigh; and Other Tales. […], copyright edition, Leipzig, Saxony: Bernhard Tauchnitz, published 1855, →OCLC, page 115:
              They passed along towards the great hall-door, where the winds howled and ravened for their prey; […]
              A figurative use.
            • 1865, Sabine Baring-Gould, “Folk-lore Relating to Were-wolves”, in The Book of Were-wolves: Being an Account of a Terrible Superstition, London: Smith, Elder and Co. […], →OCLC, page 114:
              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.
          5. Originally followed by with: to experience great hunger; to be ravenous.
            • 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Democritus Iunior to the Reader”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, page 41:
              For hovv […] ſhall I knovv thee to be a man, vvhen thou kickeſt like an aſſe, neygheſt like an Horſe after vvomen, raueſt in luſt like a Bull, raueneſt like a Beare, ſtingeſt like a Scorpion, rakeſt like a VVolfe, as ſuttle as a Foxe, as impudent as a Dogge; ſhall I ſay thou art man that haſt all the Symptomes of a beaſt?
          6. (figurative) To take and exploit or make use of greedily.
          7. (figurative) Sometimes followed by after or for: to have a strong craving or desire for, or to do, something; to crave, to desire, to yearn.
            • 1892, S[abine] Baring-Gould, “Jamie’s Ride”, in In the Roar of the Sea: A Tale of the Cornish Coast […], volume II, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 33:
              Here's my brother thirsting, ravening to make your acquaintance—and by George! you are in luck's way, young hopeful, to make his.
            • 1931 August, James B[ernard] Fagan, “The Improper Duchess”, in Famous Plays of 1931, London: Victor Gollancz […], published February 1932, →OCLC, Act III, page 237:
              Take your conscience—what is the choice? 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.
      Conjugation
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      Conjugation of raven
      infinitive (to) raven
      present tense past tense
      1st-person singular raven ravened
      2nd-person singular raven, ravenest† ravened, ravenedst†
      3rd-person singular ravens, raveneth† ravened
      plural raven
      subjunctive raven ravened
      imperative raven —
      participles ravening ravened

      † Archaic or obsolete.

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      References

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      1. ^ “rāven, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
      2. ^ Joseph Bosworth (1882), “raven”, in T[homas] Northcote Toller, editor, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 551, column 2.
      3. ^ “raven, n.1 and adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2025; “raven, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
      4. ^ “ravī̆n(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

      Further reading

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      Anagrams

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      Dutch

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      Etymology 1

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      Borrowed from English rave. By surface analysis, rave +‎ -en.

      Pronunciation

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      Verb

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      raven

      1. to (hold a) rave, to party wildly
        Raven is leven. ― To rave is to live.
      Conjugation
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      Conjugation 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, rave2 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. 2) In case of inversion.

      Etymology 2

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      Original form of raaf which represents a rebracketing of this form and which existed alongside it since (late) Middle Dutch. The singular raven persisted in some dialects until at least the 18th century.

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      raven m (plural ravens or ravenen, diminutive raventje n)

      1. obsolete form of raaf

      Etymology 3

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      See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      raven

      1. plural of raaf

      Anagrams

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      German

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      Etymology

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      From Rave +‎ -en, possibly after English (to) rave.

      Pronunciation

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      Verb

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      raven (weak, third-person singular present ravt, past tense ravte, past participle geravt, auxiliary haben) (or as past participle: geraved)

      1. (colloquial) to rave (to attend a rave)
        • 2018 March 15, Julian Weber, “Kepler 452b-Rave”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz‎[1], →ISSN, page 26:
          Es wird geravt im Funkhaus Nalepastraße. „Kepler 452b“ klingt danach, Lichtjahre von der Realität entfernt zu sein. Motto des Techno-Performance-Festivals: „nonprofit und nomadisch“, Levitation pur.
          (please add an English translation of this quotation)

      Conjugation

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      Conjugation of raven (weak, auxiliary haben)
      infinitive raven
      present participle ravend
      past participle geravt
      auxiliary haben
      indicative subjunctive
      singular plural singular plural
      present ich rave wir raven i ich rave wir raven
      du ravst ihr ravt du ravest ihr ravet
      er ravt sie raven er rave sie raven
      preterite ich ravte wir ravten ii ich ravte1 wir ravten1
      du ravtest ihr ravtet du ravtest1 ihr ravtet1
      er ravte sie ravten er ravte1 sie ravten1
      imperative rav (du)
      rave (du)       		ravt (ihr)

      1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.

      Composed forms of raven (weak, auxiliary haben)
      perfect
      singular plural singular plural
      indicative ich habe geravt wir haben geravt subjunctive ich habe geravt wir haben geravt
      du hast geravt ihr habt geravt du habest geravt ihr habet geravt
      er hat geravt sie haben geravt er habe geravt sie haben geravt
      pluperfect
      indicative ich hatte geravt wir hatten geravt subjunctive ich hätte geravt wir hätten geravt
      du hattest geravt ihr hattet geravt du hättest geravt ihr hättet geravt
      er hatte geravt sie hatten geravt er hätte geravt sie hätten geravt
      future i
      infinitive raven werden subjunctive i ich werde raven wir werden raven
      du werdest raven ihr werdet raven
      er werde raven sie werden raven
      indicative ich werde raven wir werden raven subjunctive ii ich würde raven wir würden raven
      du wirst raven ihr werdet raven du würdest raven ihr würdet raven
      er wird raven sie werden raven er würde raven sie würden raven
      future ii
      infinitive geravt haben werden subjunctive i ich werde geravt haben wir werden geravt haben
      du werdest geravt haben ihr werdet geravt haben
      er werde geravt haben sie werden geravt haben
      indicative ich werde geravt haben wir werden geravt haben subjunctive ii ich würde geravt haben wir würden geravt haben
      du wirst geravt haben ihr werdet geravt haben du würdest geravt haben ihr würdet geravt haben
      er wird geravt haben sie werden geravt haben er würde geravt haben sie würden geravt haben
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      Further reading

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      • “raven” in Duden online
      • “raven”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[2] (in German)

      Middle Dutch

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      Etymology

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

      Noun

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      rāven m

      1. raven

      Inflection

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      Strong masculine noun
      singular plural
      nominative rāven rāvene
      accusative rāven rāvene
      genitive rāvens rāvene
      dative rāvene rāvenen

      Alternative forms

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      Descendants

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      • Dutch: raaf, (all obsolete) raef, raven, raaven, raeven
        • Afrikaans: raaf
        • → Sranan Tongo: rafru
      • Limburgish: raof

      Further reading

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      Slovene

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      Etymology

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      From Proto-Slavic *orvьnъ.

      Pronunciation

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      Adjective

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      rávən (comparative rávnejši, superlative nȁjrávnejši)

      1. even, level

      Declension

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      Unknown tone or non-tonal
      		 The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
      Hard
      masculine feminine neuter
      nom. sing. ráven rávna rávno
      singular
      masculine feminine neuter
      nominative ráven ind
      rávni def       		rávna rávno
      genitive rávnega rávne rávnega
      dative rávnemu rávni rávnemu
      accusative nominativeinan or
      genitive      anim       		rávno rávno
      locative rávnem rávni rávnem
      instrumental rávnim rávno rávnim
      dual
      masculine feminine neuter
      nominative rávna rávni rávni
      genitive rávnih rávnih rávnih
      dative rávnima rávnima rávnima
      accusative rávna rávni rávni
      locative rávnih rávnih rávnih
      instrumental rávnima rávnima rávnima
      plural
      masculine feminine neuter
      nominative rávni rávne rávna
      genitive rávnih rávnih rávnih
      dative rávnim rávnim rávnim
      accusative rávne rávne rávna
      locative rávnih rávnih rávnih
      instrumental rávnimi rávnimi rávnimi

      Alternative forms

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      Derived terms

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      Further reading

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      • “raven”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
      • “raven”, in Termania, Amebis
      • See also the general references

      Swedish

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      Noun

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      raven

      1. definite plural of rave
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