Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

raven

/ˈɹeɪvən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.79 in modern English

Syllables
rav-en
IPA
/ˈɹeɪvən/
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).

Countable

noun

Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).

Uncountable

noun

Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).

Archaic; Countable

noun

Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).

Countable

noun

Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).

Uncountable

noun

Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).

Countable

noun

A person who brings bad news or makes pessimistic predictions.

Countable; Obsolete

adj

Of the jet-black and often glossy colour of the plumage of a raven (etymology 1, noun sense 1).

Example Sentences

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.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: raven, hræfn, *hrabn, *hrabnaz, *ḱrep-, ravin

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈɹeɪvən/
  • British English: /ˈɹeɪvn̩/

Usage

Inflected Forms

ravens (plural) more raven (comparative) most raven (superlative) ravens (present, singular) ravening (participle, present) ravened (participle, past) ravened (past) no-table-tags (table tags) glossary (inflection template) ravened (first person, past) ravenest (archaic, present) ravened (past, second person)

Derived Forms

nonraven Ravenclaw ravendom ravenduck ravenette ravenhood ravenish ravenless ravenlike ravenly ravenmaster ravenness

Phrases

as the raven flies Indian raven night-raven Raven Crown raven's duck raven fish raven-foot, raven's foot raven-messenger

Frequently Paired Words

unkindness ravenette ravener ravening ravenous ravenously ravenousness

Synonyms

ebony onyx Corvus corvus corax devour guttle pig prey predate

Rhymes With

haven craven shaven maven smooth-shaven cavan unshaven graven lavan caven laven sarajevan

Questions

How do you pronounce raven?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɹeɪvən/.
What does raven mean?
Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).
Where does raven come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce raven

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “raven”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɹeɪvən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “raven”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “raven” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.