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  1. raven love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A large bird (Corvus corax) having black plumage and a croaking cry.
  2. adj. Black and shiny: raven tresses.
  3. v. To consume greedily; devour.
  4. v. To seek or seize as prey or plunder.
  5. v. To seek or seize prey or plunder.
  6. v. To eat ravenously.
  7. n. Variant of ravin.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A bird of the larger species of the genus Corvus, having the feathers of the throat lanceolate and distinct from one another. The plumage is entirely black, with more or less lustrous or metallic sheen; the bill and feet are ebony-black; the wings are pointed, the tail is rounded, and the nostrils are concealed beneath large tufts of antrorse plumules. The voice is raucous. The common raven is C. corax, about 2 feet long and 50 inches in extent of wings. It inhabits Europe, Asia, and some other regions, and the American bird, though distinguished as C. carnivorus, is scarcely different. There are several similar though distinct species of various countries, among them C. cryptoleucus of western North America, which has the concealed bases of the feathers of the neck snowy-white. Ravens are easily tamed, and make very intelligent pets, but are thievish and troublesome. They may be taught to imitate speech to some extent. In the wild state the raven is omnivorous, like the crow; it nests on trees, rocks, and cliffs, preferring the most inaccessible places, and lays four or five greenish eggs heavily speckled with brown and blackish shades. The American raven is now almost unknown in the eastern parts of the United States, but is still abundant iu the west. Ravens have from time immemorial been viewed with superstitious dread, being supposed to bring bad luck and forebode death.
  2. n. A kind of fish. See sea-raven and Hemitripteridæ.
  3. Black as a raven; evenly and glossily or lustrously black: as, raven locks.
  4. n. Plunder; rapine; robbery; rapacity; furious violence.
  5. n. Plunder; prey; food obtained with rapacity.
  6. To seize with rapacity, especially food; prey upon; ravage. See ravined.
  7. To subject to rapine or ravage; obtain or take possession of by violence.
  8. To devour with great eagerness; eat with voracity; swallow greedily.
  9. To prey with rapacity; show rapacity.
  10. n. Applied in Australia to one of the larger crows, Corvus coronoides.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A common name for several, generally large and lustrous black species of birds in the genus Corvus, especially the common raven, Corvus corax.
  2. adj. Of the color of the raven; jet-black
  3. n. Rapine; rapacity.
  4. n. Prey; plunder; food obtained by violence.
  5. v. archaic To obtain or seize by violence.
  6. v. To devour with great eagerness.
  7. v. To prey with rapacity; to be greedy; to show rapacity.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. (Zoöl.) A large black passerine bird (Corvus corax), similar to the crow, but larger, and has a harsh, loud call. It is native of the northern parts of Europe, Asia and America, and is noted for its sagacity.
  2. adj. Of the color of the raven; jet black
  3. n. Rapine; rapacity.
  4. n. Prey; plunder; food obtained by violence.
  5. v. To obtain or seize by violence.
  6. v. To devour with great eagerness.
  7. v. To prey with rapacity; to be greedy; to show rapacity.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. prey on or hunt for
  2. v. feed greedily
  3. v. eat greedily
  4. v. obtain or seize by violence
  5. n. large black bird with a straight bill and long wedge-shaped tail

Etymologies

  1. From Old French raviner ("rush, seize by force"), itself from ravine ("rapine"), from Latin rapina ("plundering, loot"), itself from rapere ("seize, plunder, abduct") (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English, from Old English hræfn.From Middle English ravin, raven, rapine, plunder, prey; see ravin. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “There is a little gristle,' says Tubervile, 'which is upon the spoone of the brisket, which we call the raven's bone; and I have seen in some places a raven so wont and accustomed to it, that she would never fail to croak and cry for it all the time you were in breaking up of the deer, and would not depart till she had it.”

    The Lady of the Lake

  • “Said raven is named Mortimer and stars in a number of books by Joan Aiken (She of Wolves of Willoughby Chase fame).”

    Oh, how cool is that?!? A tidbit about Bernard Cribbins

  • “The part of the movie where they show Victoria running, and the raven is frozen in midair because she is supposed to be going so fast, I loved it.”

    'New Moon' director Chris Weitz: 'This was made for the fans' | EW.com

  • “The raven is this complete entrepreneur, outside of Noah’s agenda, strange and heady, from a myth thousands of years old, predating the Bible.”

    Awk Talk: Questions and Answers with Layne Maheu

  • “Here, the raven is none other than the creator of the world, who teaches people how to live.”

    Awk Talk: Questions and Answers with Layne Maheu

  • “The reason I raven is because I'm still trying to drop some weight for climbing, and in practical terms that means a lot of going to bed hungry.”

    "Great. More drinking on the job."

  • “And did not I fear for thy sake, I would not let a single sun arise before making his city a ruined heap wherein raven should croak and howlet hoot, and jackal and wolf harbour and loot; nay I had removed its very stones to the back side of Mount Kaf.”

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night

  • “Then Marian tells how, when the huntsmen cut up the stag, they threw the bone called the raven's bone to one that sat and croaked for it.”

    English Literature for Boys and Girls

  • “Brother,' said Loveleaves, 'this raven is surely hungry; let us give it a little bit, though it is our last cake.”

    Granny's Wonderful Chair

  • “The poor raven is still hungry,' said Woodwender, and he gave it another bit.”

    Granny's Wonderful Chair

Show 10 more examples...

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘raven’.

Comments

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  • duckbill "The plump, glossy little Eskimo girls with their fish smell, hideous raven hair and guinea pig faces, evoked even less desire in me than Dr. Johnson had."
    Nobakov, Lolita Mar 1, 2011

  • tbtabby Spy lingo for a male agent who uses the honey trap to entrap women into becoming spies. A spy gigolo, if you will. Aug 26, 2009

  • bilby Ha, I like them! Especially:

    There once was a poet named Will
    Who tramped his way over a hill
    And was speechless for hours
    Over some stupid flowers
    This was years before TV, but still.
    Oct 25, 2008

  • frindley "The Raven" as a limerick
    There once was a girl named Lenore
    And a bird and a bust and a door
    And a guy with depression
    And a whole lot of questions
    And the bird always says "Nevermore."

    (from Famous Poems Rewritten as Limericks) Oct 25, 2008

  • Prolagus sionnach, do you remember the scarf file? Sep 8, 2008

  • bilby *nods gravely* Aug 15, 2008

  • reesetee *wondering what Buenos Aires has done to sionnach* Aug 15, 2008

  • sionnach Personally, I think Professor Hempel could benefit by deepening his knowledge of the work of that eminent clergyman, Thomas Bayes.

    Because, as George Box has famously noted:

    "There's no theorem like Bayes Theoreom, like no theorem I know ....
    Everything about it is exci-i-ting...."

    and so on
    and so forth Aug 14, 2008

  • vanishedone For those wondering, the poem must be a reference to Hempel's Paradox.

    I thought WeirdNet usually put noun definitions first, but here it's gone for verb definitions—because there are more of them, maybe? Or just because it's WeirdNet? Aug 14, 2008

  • uselessness I never saw a purple cow
    But if I were to see one
    Would the probability ravens are black
    Have a better chance to be one?

    -Gelett Burgess Jun 18, 2007

  • reesetee Nevermore! Feb 1, 2007

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‘raven’ has been looked up 3493 times, loved by 4 people, added to 73 lists, commented on 11 times, and has a Scrabble score of 8.