Definition of CRAW

craw

Plural: craws

Noun

  • The crop of a bird or insect.
  • a pouch in many birds and some lower animals that resembles a stomach for storage and preliminary maceration of food
  • The stomach of an animal.
  • The crop of a bird.

Verb

  • To caw, crow.

Examples

  • That play really sticks in my craw; I should have seen it first.

Origin / Etymology

Late Middle English, also attested as craue, from or related to Middle Dutch crāghe or Middle Low German crāghe (“collar, neck”), from Proto-Germanic *kragô (“throat”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *gʷrogʰ- or *gʷrh₃-gʰ- (“throat, gullet”), whence also Proto-Celtic *brāgants (“throat, gullet”) and perhaps Ancient Greek βρόχθος (brókhthos, “throat”). The root appears to be an extension of Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- (“to swallow, devour”), though the identity and meaning of the suffix is unclear. Compare Latin gurges (“gulf, bay; whirlpool, eddy”).
Other Germanic cognates include Danish krave, German Kragen (“collar”) and Old Dutch kraga (“neck”) (whence modern Dutch kraag). See also crag (Etymology 2).

Synonyms

crop, gullet

Scrabble Score: 9

craw: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
craw: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
craw: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

craw: valid Words With Friends Word