crow
UK /kɹəʊ/ · US /kɹoʊ/ noun, adjective, verb, proper noun
Forms crows crowing crowed crew crown
- noun A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles; it has a harsh, croaking call.
- noun Any of various dark-coloured nymphalid butterflies of the genus Euploea.
- noun A bar of iron with a beak, crook or claw; a bar of iron used as a lever; a crowbar.
- noun (now rare, slang) Someone who keeps watch while their associates commit a crime; a lookout.
- noun (historical) A gangplank (corvus) used by the Ancient Roman navy to board enemy ships.
- noun (among butchers) The mesentery of an animal.
- noun (derogatory) An ill-tempered and obstinate woman, or one who otherwise has features resembling the bird; a harpy.
- noun (ethnic slur, offensive, slang) A black person.
- adjective (uncommon) Dark black, the color of a crow; crow-black.
- verb To use a crowbar, wedge, or other implement to attempt to open a surface by leveraging force on the opposite end of the tool to pry off the connection between the two surfaces. “If you wanna get inside, you're gonna have to crow open that door.”
- verb (intransitive) To make the shrill sound characteristic of a rooster; to make a sound in this manner, either in gaiety, joy, pleasure, or defiance.
- verb (intransitive) To shout in exultation or defiance; to brag. “He’s been crowing all day about winning the game of cards.”
- verb (intransitive, music) To test the reed of a double reed instrument by placing the reed alone in the mouth and blowing it.
- noun The cry or call of a rooster or a cockerel, especially as heard at sunrise.
- noun A member of a Native American tribe of southern Montana.
- proper noun (linguistics) The Siouan language of this tribe.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
crowbar battle axe bitch brim brimstone cat cockatrice dragon faggot fishwife harpy harridan hellcat jade nag nudnik scold she-devil shrew termagant Corvus brag bragging crowing vaporing line-shooting gasconade gloat triumph
Etymology
From Middle English crowe, from Old English crāwe, from Proto-West Germanic *krāā, from Proto-Germanic *krēǭ (compare West Frisian krie, Dutch kraai, German Krähe), from *krēaną (“to crow”). See below.
The verb is a back-formation from crowbar.
The verb is from Middle English crowen, from Old English crāwan (past tense crēow, past participle crāwen), from Proto-West Germanic *krāan, from Proto-Germanic *krēaną, from imitative Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”).
The noun is from Middle English crowe, from the verb.
Compare Dutch kraaien, German krähen, Lithuanian gróti, Russian гра́ять (grájatʹ)). Related to croak.
From French gens de corbeaux, calque of Dakota apsáaloke (“crow people”). Compare Crow Apsáalooke.
* From Middle English Crowe, as an Old English surname, related to crow.
* As an Irish surname, from mac Conchradha. See McEnroe.
* Also as an Irish surname, calque of Irish fiach (“crow, raven”) (see also Fee).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To make the shrill sound characteristic of a cock, either in joy, gayety, or defiance. "The cock had crown." Bayron.
- verb To shout in exultation or defiance; to brag.
- noun A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles. It has a harsh, croaking note. See Caw.
- noun A bar of iron with a beak, crook, or claw; a bar of iron used as a lever; a crowbar.
Etymology [AS. cr; akin to D. kraijen, G. kr, cf. Lith. groti to croak. sq. root24. Cf. Crake.]
Etymology [AS. cr a crow (in sense 1); akin to D. kraai, G. kr; cf. Icel. kr crow. So named from its cry, from AS. cr to crow. See Crow, v. i.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “crow”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details