English Explanatory Dictionary

heron

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any long-legged, long-necked wading bird of the family Ardeidae.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. A census-designated place in Sanders County, Montana, United States.

Pronunciation

/ˈhɛɹən/ en-us-heron.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-heron.wav

Word forms

heron herons

Etymology

From Middle English heron, heroun, heiron, from Anglo-Norman heiron, from Medieval Latin hairō, from Frankish and Proto-West Germanic *hraigrō, from Proto-Germanic *haigrô (compare Swedish häger and Danish hejre), dissimilation of *hraigrô (compare Old English hrāgra, Dutch reiger, German Reiher), from imitative Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreik-, *(s)kreig- (“to screech, creak”) (compare Welsh crëyr (“heron”), Ancient Greek κρίζω (krízō, “to creak, screech”). Compare also egret from the same Germanic etymon.

Related words

Martins Heron

Derived words

American night heron black-crowned night heron great blue heron great white heron green heron grey heron heronlike heronry heronsbill Herons Creek Japanese night heron Louisiana heron Malayan night heron mangrove heron night heron Pacific reef heron pond heron purple heron Rodrigues night heron squacco heron striated heron tiger heron tricolored heron white-faced heron
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