Other forms: ravens
A raven is the largest all-black bird, deep-voiced and clever. A pair of ravens, the raven croaked, ravens at the Tower.
It is much bigger than a crow, with a wedge-shaped tail and a croak rather than a caw. Ravens use tools, recognise individual faces and appear to plan ahead. Legend says the kingdom falls if the ravens leave the Tower of London, so their wings are clipped.
1nounravenA large all-black bird with a deep croak.
“A large black raven sat on the castle wall, croaking loudly.”
raven is a bird.
Old English hraefn names the bird, from a Germanic root that imitates its call.
Proto-Indo-European
*ḱrep- — to crackle; to rattle
Proto-Germanic
*hrabnaz — raven
Proto-West Germanic
*hrabn — raven
Old English
hræfn — raven
Middle English
raven
English, today
raven
Built from
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, referring to the bird’s call.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA