Link Centre Dictionary

raven

ra·ven

UK/ˈɹæv(ɪ)n/ US/ˈɹæv(ə)n/ fairly common
noun (1) verb (4)

noun

1.

verb

1.
2.

prey on or hunt for

  • “These mammals predate certain eggs”
Synonyms
3.

eat greedily

  • “he devoured three sandwiches”
Synonyms
4.

feed greedily

  • “The lions ravened the bodies”

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • as the raven flies
  • Indian raven
  • Raven Crown
  • raven fish
  • Raven Mocker
  • raven paradox
  • raven's duck
  • raven-foot, raven's foot

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.