- The definition of raven is something that is shiny and black.
An example of something raven is black hair.
- Raven is defined as a large black bird with a straight and sharp beak.
A large crow is an example of a raven.
Origin of ravenMiddle English ; from Old English hræfn, akin to Old Norse hrafn, German rabe ; from Indo-European echoic base an unverified form ker-, an unverified form kor-, imitative of harsh sounds from source Classical Greek korax, Classical Latin corvus, raven: so named from its cry
- to devour greedily
- Obs. to seize forcibly
Origin of ravenOld French raviner ; from ravine ; from Classical Latin rapina, rapine
- to prowl hungrily; search for prey or plunder
- to devour food or prey greedily
- to have a voracious appetite
- A large bird (Corvus corax) of the Northern Hemisphere, having black plumage and a croaking cry.
- Any of several similar birds of the genus Corvus, found in Africa, Australia, and southwestern North America.
Origin of ravenMiddle English, from Old English hræfn.
verbrav·ened, rav·en·ing, rav·ens
- To consume greedily; devour.
- To seek or seize as prey or plunder.
- To seek or seize prey or plunder.
- To eat ravenously.
Origin of ravenFrom Middle English ravin, raven, rapine, plunder, prey; see ravin.
- Of the color of the raven; jet-black
- raven curls
- raven darkness
- She was a tall, sophisticated, raven-haired beauty.
From Old English hrÃ¦fn, from Proto-Germanic *hrabnaz (compare Dutch raaf, German Rabe, Danish ravn), from Proto-Indo-European *á¸±orhâ‚‚- (compare Middle Irish crÃº, Latin corvus, Lithuanian Å¡Ã¡rka (“magpie"), Serbo-Croatian svrÈka "˜id.', Ancient Greek ÎºÏŒÏÎ±Î¾ (kÃ³rax)), from *á¸±er, *á¸±or (compare Latin crepare "˜to creak, crack', Sanskrit ká¹›ÌpatÄ“).
(third-person singular simple present ravens, present participle ravening, simple past and past participle ravened)
From Old French raviner (“rush, seize by force"), itself from ravine (“rapine"), from Latin rapina (“plundering, loot"), itself from rapere (“seize, plunder, abduct")
- A female given name for a girl with raven hair, used since the 1970s.