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raven

 - 8 dictionary results

ra⋅ven

1  [rey-vuhn]
Use raven in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of several large, corvine birds having lustrous, black plumage and a loud, harsh call, esp. Corvus corax, of the New and Old Worlds.
2. the divine culture hero and trickster of the North Pacific Coast Indians.
3. (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Corvus.
–adjective
4. lustrous black: raven locks of hair.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE hrǣfn; c. G Rabe, ON hrafn

Related forms:
ra⋅ven⋅like, adjective

rav⋅en

2  [rav-uhn]
–verb (used without object)
1. to seek plunder or prey.
2. to eat or feed voraciously or greedily: to raven like an animal.
3. to have a ravenous appetite.
–verb (used with object)
4. to seize as spoil or prey.
5. to devour voraciously.
–noun
6. rapine; robbery.
7. plunder or prey.
Also, ravin.

Origin:
1485–95; earlier ravine < MF raviner, ult. < L rapīna rapine

Raven, The

 
–noun
a lyric poem (1845) by Edgar Allan Poe.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To raven
ra·ven 1   (rā'vən)   
n.  A large bird (Corvus corax) having black plumage and a croaking cry.
adj.  Black and shiny: raven tresses.

[Middle English, from Old English hræfn.]
rav·en 2   (rāv'ən)   
v.   rav·ened, rav·en·ing, rav·ens

v.   tr.

  1. To consume greedily; devour.

  2. To seek or seize as prey or plunder.

v.   intr.

  1. To seek or seize prey or plunder.

  2. To eat ravenously.

n.  Variant of ravin.

[From Middle English ravin, raven, rapine, plunder, prey; see ravin.]
rav'en·er n.
rav·in also rav·en   (rāv'ən)   
n.  

  1. Voracity; rapaciousness.

  2. Something taken as prey.

  3. The act or practice of preying.


[Middle English ravin, raven, from Old French ravine, rapine, from Latin rapīna, from rapere, to seize; see rep- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

raven 
O.E. hræfn (Mercian), hrefn; hræfn (Northumbrian, W.Saxon), from P.Gmc. *khrabanas (cf. O.N. hrafn, Dan. ravn, Du. raaf, O.H.G. hraban, Ger. Rabe "raven," O.E. hroc "rook"), from PIE base *qer-, *qor-, imitative of harsh sounds (cf. L. crepare "to creak, clatter," cornix "crow," corvus "raven;" Gk. korax "raven," korone "crow;" O.C.S. kruku "raven;" Lith. krauklys "crow").
"The common raven is easily tamed, but is mischievous and thievish, and has been popularly regarded as a bird of evil omen and mysterious character." [OED]
O.E. also used hræmn, hremm. The raven standard was the flag of the Danish Vikings.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Raven

Heb. 'orebh, from a root meaning "to be black" (comp. Cant. 5:11); first mentioned as "sent forth" by Noah from the ark (Gen. 8:7). "Every raven after his kind" was forbidden as food (Lev. 11:15; Deut. 14:14). Ravens feed mostly on carrion, and hence their food is procured with difficulty (Job 38:41; Ps. 147:9). When they attack kids or lambs or weak animals, it is said that they first pick out the eyes of their victims (Prov. 30:17). When Elijah was concealed by the brook Cherith, God commanded the ravens to bring him "bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening" (1 Kings 17:3-6). (See ELIJAH.) There are eight species of ravens in Palestine, and they are everywhere very numerous in that land.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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