crane

[kreyn] /kreɪn/
noun
1.
any large wading bird of the family Gruidae, characterized by long legs, bill, and neck and an elevated hind toe.
2.
(not used scientifically) any of various similar birds of other families, as the great blue heron.
3.
Machinery. a device for lifting and moving heavy weights in suspension.
4.
any of various similar devices, as a horizontally swinging arm by a fireplace, used for suspending pots over the fire.
5.
Movies, Television. a vehicle having a long boom on which a camera can be mounted for taking shots from high angles.
6.
Nautical. any of a number of supports for a boat or spare spar on the deck or at the side of a vessel.
7.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Grus.
verb (used with object), craned, craning.
8.
to hoist, lower, or move by or as by a crane.
9.
to stretch (the neck) as a crane does.
verb (used without object), craned, craning.
10.
to stretch out one's neck, especially to see better.
11.
to hesitate at danger, difficulty, etc.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English; Old English cran; cognate with German Kran, Greek géranos

Crane

[kreyn] /kreɪn/
noun
1.
(Harold) Hart, 1899–1932, U.S. poet.
2.
Stephen, 1871–1900, U.S. novelist, poet, and short-story writer.
Examples from the web for crane
  • It is a manmade watercourse, such as figure largely in the crane catchment.
  • The crane is tidal for a short distance before its confluence with the thames.
  • Within a couple of years, several more losses struck the crane family.
  • crane, however, was pleased that the book was making some stir.
  • crane wrote, it is a great thing to survey the army of the enemy.
  • crane, however, chose to conceal the relationship from his friends and family.
  • crane was interred in the evergreen cemetery in what is now hillside, new jersey.
  • In his first draft, crane did not give his characters proper names.
British Dictionary definitions for crane

crane

/kreɪn/
noun
1.
any large long-necked long-legged wading bird of the family Gruidae, inhabiting marshes and plains in most parts of the world except South America, New Zealand, and Indonesia: order Gruiformes See also demoiselle (sense 1), whooping crane
2.
(not in ornithological use) any similar bird, such as a heron
3.
a device for lifting and moving heavy objects, typically consisting of a moving boom, beam, or gantry from which lifting gear is suspended See also gantry
4.
(films) a large trolley carrying a boom, on the end of which is mounted a camera
verb
5.
(transitive) to lift or move (an object) by or as if by a crane
6.
to stretch out (esp the neck), as to see over other people's heads
7.
(intransitive) (of a horse) to pull up short before a jump
Word Origin
Old English cran; related to Middle High German krane, Latin grūs, Greek géranos

Crane

/kreɪn/
noun
1.
(Harold) Hart. 1899–1932, US poet; author of The Bridge (1930)
2.
Stephen. 1871–1900, US novelist and short-story writer, noted particularly for his novel The Red Badge of Courage (1895)
3.
Walter. 1845–1915, British painter, illustrator of children's books, and designer of textiles and wallpaper
Word Origin and History for crane
n.

Old English cran "large wading bird," common Germanic (cf. Old Saxon krano, Old High German krano, German Kranich, and, with unexplained change of consonant, Old Norse trani), from PIE *gere- (cf. Greek geranos, Latin grus, Welsh garan, Lithuanian garnys "heron, stork"), perhaps echoic of its cry. Metaphoric use for "machine with a long arm" is first attested late 13c. (a sense also in equivalent words in German and Greek).

v.

"to stretch (the neck)," 1799, from crane (n.). Related: Craned; craning.

crane in the Bible

(Isa. 38:14; Jer. 8:7). In both of these passages the Authorized Version has reversed the Hebrew order of the words. "Crane or swallow" should be "swallow or crane," as in the Revised Version. The rendering is there correct. The Hebrew for crane is _'agur_, the Grus cincerea, a bird well known in Palestine. It is migratory, and is distinguished by its loud voice, its cry being hoarse and melancholy.