crane

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a tall machine with a projecting arm, used to lift and move heavy objects

   A tower crane lifted the steel beam onto the roof.

2. 2
   noun

   a large, long-legged and long-necked bird of the family Gruidae

   A crane stood motionless in the marsh before taking flight.

3. 3
   verb

   to stretch one's neck or body in order to see something

   The children craned their necks to watch the parade.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Crane first appeared in Middle English as the name of the long-legged wading bird. By the 14th century the same word was also used for the similarly long-legged lifting machine. German, Dutch, and French likewise use their word for the bird as the name of the machine.

From Middle English crane and Old English cran, from a Proto-Germanic name for the long-necked bird, probably imitative of its hoarse cry. The lifting machine was named for its resemblance to the bird's long neck and bill; the verb likewise evokes extending the neck.

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary