crow

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of several large glossy black birds of the genus Corvus, having a characteristic raucous call, especially C. brachyrhynchos of North America.
2. n. A crowbar.
3. idiom. as the crow flies In a straight line.
4. v. To utter the shrill cry characteristic of a cock or rooster.
5. v. To exult loudly, as over another's defeat; boast. See Synonyms at boast¹.
6. v. To make a sound expressive of pleasure or well-being, characteristic of an infant.
7. n. The shrill cry of a cock.
8. n. An inarticulate sound expressive of pleasure or delight.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To cry as a cock; utter the characteristic cry of a cock.
2. To boast in triumph; vaunt; vapor; swagger: absolutely, or with over or about.
3. To utter a shouting sound expressive of pleasure, as an infant.
4. To announce by crowing.
5. n. The characteristic cry of the cock: sometimes applied to a similar cry of some other bird.
6. n. A general name including most birds of the genus Corrus and of the family Corvidæ; especially, one of the Corvinæ. See these three words. The larger kinds of crows are called ravens, especially those which have the throat-feathers lengthened, lanceolate, and discrete. The term, used absolutely, means in Great Britain the carrion-crow, Corvus corone, and in the United States the common American crow, C. americanus. The two species are so similar in all respects that they are only distinguished by slight technical characters. The plumage is jet-black, with a purplish and violet gloss or sheen, especially on the back, wings, and tail; the bill and feet are ebony-black; the base of the upper mandible is covered for a long distance with a bundle of antrorse bristly feathers, filling each nasal fossa and hiding the nostrils. The eyes are bright and intelligent, of a hazel-brown color. The feet are stout, with strong curved claws and scaly tarsi and toes. The tail is of moderate length, a little rounded or fan-shaped, of 12 broad plane feathers. The wings are lengthened and pointed, with 10 primaries. and when folded their tips fall nearly opposite the end of the tail. The length of these crows is 18 or 20 inches. Crows are among the most omnivorous of birds, eating almost everything from carrion to fruits. Some species, hence called fish-crows, are fond of fish and shell-fish, as mollusks and crustaceans. Crows usually nest in trees, where they build large bulky nests of sticks, and lay greenish eggs heavily spotted with dark colors, generally to the number of 4, 5, or 6. They are noted for their sagacity, and in populous countries become extremely wary and knowing birds, their instinct of self-preservation being developed to the highest degree by the incessant persecution to which they are subjected. Opinions differ as to their being on the whole most beneficial or most injurious to the agriculturist, but they are generally classed as “vermin,” and in some places a legal price is set upon their heads. Crows are eminently sociable birds, and however widely they may be dispersed in pairs in the breeding season, they flock at other times; and in winter, in many places in the United States, vast bands numbering hundreds of thousands assemble nightly to roost together, often flying 20 to 40 miles back to these crow-roosts at night after foraging over the country for food during the earlier hours of the day. The common American fish-crow is C. ossifragus or C. maritimus, an undersized species inhabiting southerly parts of the United States, especially coastwise, and feeding much on shell-fish. The northwestern fish-crow is C. caurinus, a similar though distinct species. The white-necked crow or raven is C. cryptoleucus, of western parts of the United States, in which the plumage of the neck beneath the black surface is snowy-white. A number of small crows resembling the fish-crow inhabit the West Indies, as C. jamaicensis. In some of these the face is partially naked, a character which is also conspicuous in the European rook, a kind of crow, C. frugilegus. The European daw, C. monedula, is another kind of crow. See also phrases below.
7. n. A name of several birds of other families. See the phrases below.
8. n. The constellation Corvus.
9. n. The mesentery or ruffle of a beast: so called by butchers.
10. n. One who watches or stands guard while another commits a theft; a confederate in a robbery.
11. n. A crowbar.
12. n. A device for holding a gas- or water-main in position while it is tapped for a service-pipe.
13. n. In the West Indies, particularly in Jamaica, the black vulture, Catharista atrata.

Wiktionary

1. n. A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles; it has a harsh, croaking call.
2. n. A bar of iron with a beak, crook, or claw; a bar of iron used as a lever; a crowbar.
3. n. The cry of the rooster.
4. v. To make the shrill sound characteristic of a rooster; to make a sound in this manner, either in joy, gaiety, or defiance.
5. v. To shout in exultation or defiance; to brag.
6. v. To utter a sound expressive of joy or pleasure.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To make the shrill sound characteristic of a cock, either in joy, gayety, or defiance.
2. v. To shout in exultation or defiance; to brag.
3. v. To utter a sound expressive of joy or pleasure.
4. n. (Zoöl.) A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles. It has a harsh, croaking note. See Caw.
5. n. A bar of iron with a beak, crook, or claw; a bar of iron used as a lever; a crowbar.
6. n. The cry of the cock. See Crow, v. i., 1.
7. n. The mesentery of a beast; -- so called by butchers.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the cry of a cock (or an imitation of it)
2. v. utter shrill sounds
3. n. a small quadrilateral constellation in the southern hemisphere near Virgo
4. v. dwell on with satisfaction
5. v. express pleasure verbally
6. n. a Siouan language spoken by the Crow
7. n. a member of the Siouan people formerly living in eastern Montana
8. n. black birds having a raucous call
9. n. an instance of boastful talk