crow

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /kɹoʊ/ UK /kɹəʊ/ See IPA manual

Freq #6255

Meanings

1

noun
A large black bird with a harsh, croaking call.

A group of crows sat noisily on the bare tree.
2

verb
To make the loud, shrill cry of a cock (rooster).

The rooster crowed loudly at dawn.
3

verb
To talk proudly and happily about your own success, often in an annoying way.

He kept crowing about his victory all evening.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms crowedcrowingcrows

Derived forms cockscrowcrow-linecrow-shrikecrow-silkcrow-titcrow-troddencrowbaitcrowberrycrowbillcrowdomcroweatercrower

Etymology

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.

*gerH- Proto-Indo-European crowen Middle English crāwan Old English *krāan Proto-West Germanic *krēaną Proto-Germanic *gerh₂- Proto-Indo-European crowe Middle English

View etymology graph ->

External links

# crow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /kɹoʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /kɹəʊ/
**Frequency rank:** 6255

## Meanings
1. A large black bird with a harsh, croaking call.
2. To make the loud, shrill cry of a cock (rooster).
3. To talk proudly and happily about your own success, often in an annoying way.

## Examples
- A group of crows sat noisily on the bare tree.
- The rooster crowed loudly at dawn.
- He kept crowing about his victory all evening.

## Derived Forms
- cockscrow
- crow-line
- crow-shrike
- crow-silk
- crow-tit
- crow-trodden
- crowbait
- crowberry
- crowbill
- crowdom
- croweater
- crower

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gerH-
- Root: crowen
- Root: crāwan
- Root: *krāan
- Root: *krēaną
- Root: *gerh₂-
- Root: crowe

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
For crow, 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. The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *gerH-, Middle English crowen, Old English crāwan, Proto-West Germanic *krāan, Proto-Germanic *krēaną, and later related forms. Current senses include A large black bird with a harsh, croaking call and to make the loud, shrill cry of a cock (rooster). English relatives and later formations include cockscrow, crow-line, crow-shrike.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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crow

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