heron

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See also: Heron and héron

English

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Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) in Ireland

Etymology

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From Middle English heron, heroun, heiron, from Anglo-Norman heiron, from Medieval Latin hairō, from Frankish and Proto-West Germanic *hraigrō, from Proto-Germanic *haigrô (compare Swedish häger and Danish hejre), dissimilation of *hraigrô (compare Old English hrāgra, Dutch reiger, German Reiher), from imitative Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreik-, *(s)kreig- (to screech, creak) (compare Welsh crëyr (heron), Ancient Greek κρίζω (krízō, to creak, screech).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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heron (plural herons)

  1. Any long-legged, long-necked wading bird of the family Ardeidae.

Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Anglo-Norman heiron, from Medieval Latin hairō, *haigrō, from Frankish/Proto-West Germanic *hraigrō, from Proto-Germanic *haigrô, from earlier *hraigrô via dissimilation.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /hɛːˈruːn/, /ˈhɛːrun/, /ˈhɛːr(ə)n/, /hɛi̯-/, /hɛ-/

Noun

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heron (plural herons)

  1. the grey heron (Ardea cinerea), or (rarely) a representation of it used in heraldry
  2. the meat of a heron used as food.
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Descendants

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  • English: heron, hern
  • Scots: hern

References

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Middle French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old French heron, of Germanic origin, probably from Frankish *hraigrō.

Noun

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heron m (plural herons)

  1. heron

Descendants

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