crow
/kɹoʊ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.80 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
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
An ill-tempered and obstinate woman, or one who otherwise has features resembling the bird; a harpy.
Derogatory
Example Sentences
- "Gaslark in his splendour on the golden stairs saying adieu to those three captains and their matchless armament foredoomed to dogs and crows on Salapanta Hills."
- "He approached the humble tomb in which Antonia reposed. He had provided himself with an iron crow and a pick-axe: but this precaution was unnecessary."
- "Watt might have broken the door down, with an axe, or a crow, or a small charge of explosive, but this might have aroused Erskine's suspicions, and Watt did not want that."
- "“Ay,” put in a young man, who had the reputation of being the smartest “crow” in London—“‘fishers of men,’ as the parson says.”"
- "By nine o'clock on the evening of November 12, 1854, Pierce had his confederates in their places. The crow, Agar's woman, lounged across the street from the Trent mansion."
- "But it helps a man along to have a wife he can be proud of. Suppose you marry some old crow. People point at her and ask, 'Who is that death's head yonder?'"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂-der.? Proto-Germanic *krēanądeverb. Proto-Germanic *-ǭ Proto-Germanic *krēǭ Proto-West Germanic *krāā Old English crāwe Middle English crowe English crow 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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kɹoʊ/
- British English: /kɹəʊ/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Law.