raven

raven · noun, adjective¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱrep-“to crackle; to rattle”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hrabnaz“raven”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*hrabn“raven”
4. Old English · inherited fromhræfn“raven”
5. Middle English · inherited fromraven
6. English todayraven

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.

raven · noun, adjective, verb²

1. Middle English · inherited fromravin
2. English todayraven

A variant of ravin, from Middle English ravin, ravine, raven (noun).

Words from the same roots