raven

¹

[ rey-vuhn ]

noun

1. any of several large, corvine birds having lustrous, black plumage and a loud, harsh call, especially the common raven, Corvus corax, of both the New World and the Old World.
2. Raven, the divine culture hero and trickster of the North Pacific Coast Indians.
3. Raven, Astronomy. the constellation Corvus.

adjective

1. lustrous black:

   raven locks of hair.

raven

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)

1. to seize as spoil or prey.
2. to devour voraciously.

noun

1. rapine; robbery.
2. plunder or prey.

Raven

¹

/ ˈreɪvən /

noun

1. a traditional trickster hero among the native peoples of the Canadian Pacific Northwest

raven

²

/ ˈrævən /

verb

1. to seize or seek (plunder, prey, etc)
2. to eat (something) voraciously or greedily; be ravenous in eating

raven

³

/ ˈreɪvən /

noun

1. a large passerine bird, Corvus corax , having a large straight bill, long wedge-shaped tail, and black plumage: family Corvidae (crows). It has a hoarse croaking cry
2. 1. a shiny black colour
   2. ( as adjective )

      raven hair

Derived Forms

• ˈravener, noun

Other Words From

• raven·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of raven¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hrǣfn, hrefn; cognate with German Rabe, Old Norse hrafn

Origin of raven²

First recorded in 1485–95; earlier ravine, from Middle French raviner, ultimately from Latin rapīna “plunder, rapine”; rapine

Word History and Origins

Origin of raven¹

from raven ¹

Origin of raven²

C15: from Old French raviner to attack impetuously; see ravenous

Origin of raven³

Old English hrǣfn ; related to Old High German hraban , Old Norse hrafn

Example Sentences

One stanza from the poem Grímnismál also mentions how Odin worries about the ravens not returning to him.

From Realm of History

It also often explores the relationships that corvids—a family of birds including crows, magpies, and ravens—develop with human beings.

From MIT Technology Review

I shall do my best to that end, whether we’re talking about humans, chimpanzees, ravens, or bird of paradise plants.

From Outside Online

The work I did was terribly exciting, for me at least, and also very physically taxing—from the high Arctic to the equator to the ravens.

From Outside Online

One of his assignments was to recite Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven.

From Nautilus

The Baltimore Raven was indefinitely suspended but even one of his teammates suited up after punching a girlfriend in the neck.

From The Daily Beast

Berney then went on to say that he considered the former Baltimore Raven to be “a model citizen and a role model.”

From The Daily Beast

When the raven-man promises Bran that he will “fly,” does he mean the boy is about to morph into mutant bird as well?

From The Daily Beast

And she has introduced them to the raven himself, who now appears to be a bearded old man.

From The Daily Beast

But I really just told the best story for Days of Future Past, and Mystique/Raven is a big part of that story.

From The Daily Beast

The sunken eyes, the tangled masses of raven hair, the look of exhaustion and hopeless woe.

From Project Gutenberg

The dwarf who had watched her came back again on his raven followed this time by a crowd of little men.

From Project Gutenberg

For, singular, uncanny circumstance, this was a one-eyed raven which sat upon the shoulder of his one-eyed master!

From Project Gutenberg

He could not restrain a shriek as he did so, but he still kept hold of the raven, and made a wild grasp with his disengaged hand.

From Project Gutenberg

Sin Sin Wa never moved, and the raven, settling down upon the Chinaman's shoulder, closed his serviceable eye.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• pillage