Crowe

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large black bird with a strong beak, known for its intelligence and ability to mimic sounds
2. A member of the corvid family characterized by glossy black plumage, a powerful bill, and remarkable cognitive abilities
3. A large dark-feathered bird belonging to the genus Corvus, recognized for its vocal calls and problem-solving skills

Etymology: Before "crow" settled into its modern spelling in the Middle Ages, the bird and the verb were written in many ways, and "crowe" is one of those spellings. The bird's name goes back to Old English "crāwe", and it belongs to a family of similar bird-names across Germanic languages, such as Dutch "kraai" and German "Krähe". The sound imitates the bird's harsh call. The verb "to crow" has an odd past tense. Its Old English form was the strong verb "crāwan", whose past tense was "crēow", and that form survives today only in American English, where "he crew" is standard. Most speakers elsewhere say "crowed," a regular past tense that took over in the later Middle Ages.