raven
Meanings
noun
- Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).
- A jet-black, often glossy, colour, like that of the plumage of a raven (etymology 1, noun sense 1).
- Usually preceded by a descriptive word: a bird from a genus other than Corvus that resembles the raven (etymology 1, noun sense 1), especially in having black plumage; also, an imaginary black bird.
- A flag bearing a raven (etymology 1, noun sense 1), formerly used by some Viking leaders
- preceded by the: Viking military power.
- A person, especially a man, with black hair.
- A person who brings bad news or makes pessimistic predictions.
adj
- Of the jet-black and often glossy colour of the plumage of a raven (etymology 1, noun sense 1).
noun
- Alternative spelling of ravin.
adj
- Alternative spelling of ravin.
verb
- Alternative spelling of ravin.
- Sometimes followed by away or from: to obtain or seize (something, especially property) by force or violence; to plunder.
- Sometimes followed by down, up, or (obsolete) in: to eat (something, such as food or prey) greedily; to devour, to wolf down.
- To absorb or take in (something, such as information) greedily; also, to approach or pounce on (someone) like prey.
- 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.
- To eat greedily; also, followed by on or upon: of an animal: to prey on.
- Sometimes followed by about or on: to move about searching for food or prey ravenously.
- Sometimes followed by after or for: to have a ravenous appetite or craving for food or prey.
- Originally followed by with: to experience great hunger; to be ravenous.
- To take and exploit or make use of greedily.
- Sometimes followed by after or for: to have a strong craving or desire for, or to do, something; to crave, to desire, to yearn.
name
- A surname.
- A female given name from English for a girl with raven hair, used since the 1970s.
- A male given name.
- A place name:
- A community in Red Deer County, Alberta, Canada, possibly named after the Raven River.
- A number of places in the United States:
- An unincorporated community in Prairie Township, Edgar County, Illinois.
- An unincorporated community in Knott County, Kentucky.
- An unincorporated community in Brown County, Nebraska.
- A census-designated place in Russell County and Tazewell County, Virginia.
- A village in Kardzhali province, Bulgaria.
- A village in Gostivar municipality, North Macedonia.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
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”), from Old English hræfn (“raven”), 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.
Synonyms
Related words
Derived words
Translations
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