cranen.1
/kreɪn/, U.S. /kreɪn/ 1.
a. A large grallatorial bird of the family Gruidæ, characterized by very long legs, neck, and bill. The name belongs originally to the common European crane, Grus cinerea, of an ashy-gray colour, formerly abundant in marshy places in Great Britain, and prized as food, but now extinct; about 15 closely-allied species are found in other lands.Among these are the common American or Sand-hill Crane ( G. canadensis), and Whooping Crane ( G. americana). The Crown Crane or Demoiselle, Numidian, and Stanley Crane of Africa belong to allied genera. The Adjutant or Gigantic Crane is a species of Stork.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Gruiformes > [noun] > family Gruidae (cranes) > member of (crane)
cranec1000
grue?1590
c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 132/21 Grus, cran.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10061 Swa doð þe wilde cron [c1300 Otho crane].
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 472/342 Crannes and swannes.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1726 The beste mete That king or cayser wolde ete; Kranes, lampreys, and gode sturgun.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxii. 103 Þe Pigmens, whilk er men of litill stature..feight with Craanes comounly.
1491 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 182 Item, til a man, for a cran..vs.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. iii. f. 16 They sawe flockes of greate cranes twyse as bygge as owres.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. iv. sig. D3v Like a Crane his necke was long and fyne.
a1605 Polwart Flyting with Montgomerie 713 Like an cran, in mounting soone orethrowen, That must take aye nine steps before shee flye.
1766 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. ii. 118 The Crane..very rarely frequents these islands at present.
1856 A. P. Stanley Sinai & Palestine (1858) i. 82 Large red-legged cranes, three feet high, with black and white wings.
b. Applied locally to other large grallatorial birds, as herons and storks; also to the Shag or Crested Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax graculus).
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the world > animals > birds > unspecified and miscellaneous birds > [noun] > miscellaneous
night-raveneOE
cold-finch1676
crane1678
diver1694
solitary1708
wheat-bird1747
yellow-bill1775
Chinese thrush1781
whidah thrush1781
tomtit1789
solitaire1797
year-bird1798
softbill1830
swift-shrike1841
scissor bird1843
seed finch1862
sea-flyer1869
stalker1872
seven sisters1873
dicky bird1879
baboon bird1883
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. 332 The Shag, called in the North of England, the Crane.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Crane..a name improperly given in many parts of England to the shagg or small cormorant.
a1767 M. Bruce Lochleven in Poems (1770) 90 The slow-wing'd crane mov'd heavily o'er the lea.
1873 Q. Rev. 135 159 Cranmere..a haunt of herons (still called ‘cranes’ in Devonshire).
1885 C. Swainson Provinc. Names Brit. Birds 145 Heron..Crane (Somerset; North-Hants; Westmoreland; Lancashire; Ireland; Scotland).
c. Astronomy. The southern constellation Grus.
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the world > the universe > constellation > Southern constellations > [noun] > Grus
crane1868
Gru1907
1868 W. Lockyer & J. N. Lockyer tr. A. Guillemin Heavens (ed. 3) 335 The Phœnix, below which..are found Toucan, the Crane [etc.].
2. A machine for raising and lowering heavy weights; in its usual form it consists of a vertical post capable of rotation on its axis, a projecting arm or ‘jib’ over which passes the chain or rope from which the weight is suspended, and a barrel round which the chain or rope is wound. [So French grue, German kran, krahn, kranich.]
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society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > crane
crane1487
sway treec1632
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xvii. 608 Ane cren [1489 Adv. crane] thai haf gert dress vp hey Rynand on quhelis.
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. xlviv/2 That they shuld doo make..a crane sufficient and able to take vp from the water of thamis the weight of a tonne.
1545 Act 37 Hen. VIII c. 12 §9 Houses, with Key or Wharf, having any Crane or Gibet belonging to the same.
1656 A. Cowley Davideis ii. 56 in Poems Some from the quarries hew out massy stone, Some draw it up with cranes.
1788 Trans. Soc. Arts 6 325 A Model of a Crane for Wharfs.
1868 Morning Star 24 Feb. A terrific..gale made a great breach between the lighthouse and the breakwater, demolishing the machinery and cranes.
3. A name given to various other mechanical contrivances:
a. A machine for weighing goods, constructed on the principle of the crane described under 2.
Categories »
b. An upright revolving axle with a horizontal arm fixed by a fireplace, for suspending a pot or kettle over the fire.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
c. Nautical (plural) Projecting pieces of iron or timber on board a ship, to support a boat or spar.
Categories »
d. Turning. A spindle with a bent arm, serving as a lever (quot. 1725).
e. Carriage-building. (See quot. 1794 for crane-wheel n. at Compounds 2b; and cf. crane-neck n. at Compounds 1b.)
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > parts of cart or carriage > [noun] > bar connecting front and back timbers
crane-neck1686
crane1795
1725 W. Halfpenny Art of Sound Building 56 The Eyes in which the Spindle of the Crane turns.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Barricade A double rope-netting, supported by double cranes of iron.
1780 E. Parkman Diary 292 Mr. Beeton has made a Crane for our West Room Chimney.
1795 W. Felton Treat. Carriages II. (Gloss.) 216 Cranes, strong iron bars which form the sides of the upper carriage, and unite the back and fore timbers, shaped like a crane's neck, for the purpose of the fore wheels to pass under.
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Crane..(b.) A similar arm turning on a vertical axis or support, in a fireplace for supporting kettles, etc. over a fire.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Crane..Also pieces of iron or timber at a vessel's sides, used to stow boats or spars upon.
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Crane..A forked post to support a boom or spare spar on deck.
1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down Crane, the iron arm over a fire from which the ‘crook’ hangs.
f. A moving platform on which a camera is mounted for the taking of angled ‘shots’. So crane-arm, crane-hook, crane-shot, etc.
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > filming equipment > [noun] > camera > support for
boom1931
rostrum1935
crane1937
pan head1940
1937 Cine-Technician III. 100/1 One crane of Soviet make..with..8-metre raise, mounted on a pneumatic dolly.
1937 Cine-Technician III. 103/1 All the apparatus,..is well designed and made, the camera crane and model table at Mosfilm being notable examples.
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 207/1 Crane shot, in motion-picture production, a shot taken with the camera mounted on a crane-like structure, to get vertical panning or a combination of vertical and horizontal panning.
1953 K. Reisz Technique Film Editing ii. 173 Ladle on crane-hook standing under spout of cupola.
1961 G. Millerson Technique Television Production iii. 24 Assisting the cameraman is an operator who pushes and guides (tracks) the mounting. Where the crane-arm is to be raised/lowered or slewed, he may also carry out these adjustments.
4. A bent tube, used to draw liquor out of a vessel; a siphon. [So German kran.]
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society > occupation and work > equipment > conveyor > [noun] > conduit, channel, or tube > pipe > syphon
crane1634
siphon1659
diabetes1662
1634 J. Bate Myst. Nature & Art Take a Crane (that is a crooked hollow Cane) one end whereof let be somewhat longer than the other.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 321/1 Brewers by a Leaden Crane draw their Wort from one Cooler to another.
1765 tr. G. van Swieten Comm. Aphorisms Boerhaave (ed. 2) III. 35 An instrument inflected like a syphon or crain.
1846 J. Joyce Hydrost. in Sci. Dialogues xvii. 182 That is called a distiller's crane or syphon.
5. An overhanging tube for supplying water to the tender of a locomotive; a water-crane.
6. † a. Crane-coloured, ashen gray (quot. 1517).
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [adjective] > ashy grey
crane1517
crane-coloured1549
crane-feather1557
ash-coloura1586
subcineritious1657
cinereous1661
cinerealc1878
1517 in C. Kerry St. Lawr. Reading (1883) 105 ijo Copes of satten russet and crane.
b. Crane-like; long and lanky.
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the world > space > shape > condition of being long in relation to breadth > [adjective] > long and narrow
snake-like1612
slangrel1643
crane1697
1697 London Gaz. No. 3328/4 A black Gelding..a long Crane Neck.
1808 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Devon x. 250 Their crane stems are often burnt for charcoal.
1872 Ld. Tennyson Last Tournament in Gareth & Lynette 134 Mocking at the much ungainliness..and long crane legs of Mark.
c. Of or pertaining to a crane or the cranes.
ΚΠ
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. 11 The feet are not furnished with sharp claws, as in others of the crane kind.
Compounds
C1. (In sense 1.)
a.
crane-flock n.
ΚΠ
a1892 J. G. Whittier To A. K. 54 As in air The crane-flock leaves no trace of passage.
b. † crane-feather n. Obsolete attributive of the colour of crane's feathers.
crane-battle n. a battle with cranes (attributed to the fabled Pygmies).
ΚΠ
1610 J. Healey tr. J. L. Vives in tr. St. Augustine Citie of God xvi. viii. 582 Their..crane-battells are fables.
crane-colour n. the colour of the common crane, ashy gray; also attributive.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [noun] > ashy grey
crane-colour1517
ash-grey1826
ash1876
1517 Will of Richard Aleyne (P.R.O.: PROB. 11/19) f. 7 Crane colour.
1524 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1884) V. 176 A gowne of crayne colour furrid with white budge.
1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in Topsell's Hist. Four-footed Beasts (rev. ed.) 964 The fourth hath broad horns of crane colour.
crane-coloured adj. of this colour.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [adjective] > ashy grey
crane1517
crane-coloured1549
crane-feather1557
ash-coloura1586
subcineritious1657
cinereous1661
cinerealc1878
1549 in Surrey Archæol. Coll. (1869) 4 100 One cope of cranecoloryd sylke.
1593 in G. J. Piccope Lancs. & Cheshire Wills (1860) II. 79 Tow Kirtles one of craine colored satten.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [adjective] > ashy grey
crane1517
crane-coloured1549
crane-feather1557
ash-coloura1586
subcineritious1657
cinereous1661
cinerealc1878
1557 Will of J. Rowe (Somerset Ho.) My cranefether doblete.
crane-neck n. an iron bar bent like a crane's neck uniting the back and front timbers in a carriage (= 3e); also attributive.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > parts of cart or carriage > [noun] > bar connecting front and back timbers
crane-neck1686
crane1795
1686 London Gaz. No. 2136/4 A Crane-neck Coach lined with figured Velvet.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 23. ⁋2 A Lady's Chariot..had a Crane-Neck, and hung with twice the Air that hers did.
crane-necked adj. (a) of a carriage, having a crane-neck; (b) having a long neck like a crane's.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > [adjective] > with specific fittings
bailed1548
crane-necked1699
fallback1760
thoroughbraced1858
limbered1920
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > neck > [adjective] > types of neck > having
neckeda1398
bull necked?a1400
well-necked?1548
thick-necked1591
lean-necked1608
swan-necked1703
crane-necked1822
pencil-neck1868
no-neck1955
pencil-necked1956
1699 M. Lister Journey to Paris (new ed.) 12 They [coaches] are all Crane-Neckt, and the Wheels before very low.
1822 Monthly Mag. Oct. The coach body was suspended by thick straps, from four of what are now..called crane-necked springs.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. iii. 9/1 One of those purse-mouthed, crane-necked, clean-brushed..individuals.
1840 R. H. Barham Spectre of Tappington in Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 13 The man was fitting straps on a light pair of crane-necked spurs.
crane-vulture n. a name for the secretary bird.
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the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > [noun] > family Sagittariidae (secretary bird)
serpent-eater1731
secretary1781
secretary bird1781
crane-vulture1885
Serpentarius1893
1885 Harper's Mag. Feb. 424/1 The secretary-bird (Serpentarius Secretarius), or crane-vulture.
C2. (In sense 2 or 3.)
a.
crane-driver n.
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific tools or equipment > [noun] > with lifting equipment
craneman1300
crane-keeper1558
table-loader1875
slinger1881
lift-man1883
hoist-man1892
crane-driver1897
lift-attendant1900
jackman1902
1897 Daily News 26 Feb. 3/5 The well-known engineers..were summoned..by..a crane driver in their employ.
1957 A. R. Manvell & J. Huntley Technique Film Music iii. 71 The scene of a crane-driver singing on the dockside at five o'clock in the morning when the film opens was shot on location.
b.
crane-barge n. a barge carrying a crane.
ΚΠ
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Crane-barge, a low flat-floored lump, fitted for the purpose of carrying a crane, in aid of marine works.
crane-chair n. ? a chair lowered and raised by a crane.
ΚΠ
1769 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 7) I. 21 Baths are..supplied with..Sea-water,..And for the..Convenience of such as..have not strength to Plunge themselves, there is a Crane Chair of particular Contrivance.
crane-house n. a shed or building in which a crane stands.
ΚΠ
1705 London Gaz. No. 4105/4 The Stone-Wharf, with a Crane and Crane-House.
crane-keeper n. a man in charge of a crane.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific tools or equipment > [noun] > with lifting equipment
craneman1300
crane-keeper1558
table-loader1875
slinger1881
lift-man1883
hoist-man1892
crane-driver1897
lift-attendant1900
jackman1902
1558 Act 1 Eliz. c. ii. §7 Any Wharfenger, Cranekeeper..Weigher or other Officer.
craneman n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific tools or equipment > [noun] > with lifting equipment
craneman1300
crane-keeper1558
table-loader1875
slinger1881
lift-man1883
hoist-man1892
crane-driver1897
lift-attendant1900
jackman1902
1300 in H. T. Riley Mem. London p. xxi Richard the Fruter, creneman.
1849 G. C. Greenwell Gloss. Terms Coal Trade Northumberland & Durham 18 Craneman, a lad..whose business is to hoist the corves of coals on to the rolleys with the crane.
1891 Daily News 6 Feb. 4/8 The tippers and crane men at the Bute Docks.
crane-post n. the vertical post or axis of a crane.
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 644/2 In Morrison's steam crane, the crane-post forms the steam-cylinder.
crane-shaft n. (a) = crane-post n.; (b) see quot. and 3e.
ΚΠ
1795 W. Felton Treat. Carriages II. (Gloss.) 217 Crane shaft, wood instead of iron, for [carriage cranes].
crane-wheel n. a tread-wheel by which a crane was formerly worked.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > crane > parts of
crane-line1466
ram's head1611
crane-wheel1669
ram-head1686
gibbet1730
calliper1765
jib1765
outrigger1835
clutch1874
crab1874
gabbard1952
spreader1957
lifting beam1963
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. vi. iii. 105 A Man turning a Crane-Wheel or Grindstone.
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. III. xxxi. 288 In a crane wheel the power is..applied..by a man walking within the wheel.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† cranen.2
/kreɪn/, U.S. /kreɪn/ Obsolete or archaic.figurative.1840 R. Browning Sordello i. 277 Till Autumn spoiled their [poppies'] fleering quite with rain, And, turbanless, a coarse, brown, rattling crane Lay bare.
The skull; = cranium n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > bone or bones > skull > parts of skull > [noun] > top of skull
crownc1275
scalpa1300
calvaria1398
crany1525
crane?1541
cranium1543
brain-cap1812
skull-cap1855
?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens ii. sig. Div The brayne panne skulle or crane.
1597 P. Lowe Art Chirurg. (1634) 312 Fracture of the crane.
1620 T. Venner Via Recta iii. 63 The Crane is of an hard and fibrous substance.
1824 T. Medwin Conv. with Byron (1832) I. 83 A skull that had probably belonged to some jolly friar..The crane was filled with claret, and..passed about.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
cranev.
/kreɪn/, U.S. /kreɪn/ 1.
a. transitive. To hoist or lower with a crane, or with similar apparatus.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with tools or equipment > work with tools or equipment [verb (transitive)] > lifting or hoisting equipment
to wind upc1275
windc1440
sling1522
crane1570
hoise1573
pulley1581
tackle1711
lewis1837
teagle1841
to jack up1853
windlass1870
whorl1886
luff1913
1570 J. Dee in H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. Math. Præf. sig. dj By two Wheles more..there may be Craned vp 200000 pound waight.
a1652 R. Brome Queenes Exchange v, in Wks. (1873) III. 536 When I shake the rope, then crane me up again.
1749 Wealth Great Brit. in Ocean 53 It is craned into cellars.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary I. viii. 174 Being safely craned up to the top of the crag.
b. figurative.
ΚΠ
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xix. sig. L8 They are bad workes, that neede rewards to crane them vp withall.
1632 P. Massinger & N. Field Fatall Dowry iii. sig. G4 An vpstart cran'd vp to the height he has.
1676 R. Kidder Charity Directed 21 Let us not need Craning and Skrewing up to so Blessed a work.
1890 W. M. Fullerton in Fortn. Rev. Feb. 251 By money man is enabled..to crane himself above the dead level of uniformity.
2. To stretch (the neck) like a crane. (Also, rarely, to crane one's head.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > action or fact of stretching body > stretch oneself or be stretched [verb (intransitive)] > specific part of body
astretchc1000
reachOE
stretcha1375
to make a long neck1490
stram1792
crane1799
1799 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) I. 64 A grotesque being, a little man who can..crane up his neck to the top-tower window.
1849 R. Curzon Visits to Monasteries Levant 319 We all craned our necks over the edge to see what had become of our companion.
1886 W. H. Mallock Old Order Changes III. 34 Craning his head forward he looked in the direction indicated.
3.
a. intransitive. To stretch out one's neck; to lean or bend forward with the neck stretched out.
ΚΠ
1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xxix. 280 Pen craned over the coach to have a long look at the great Hurtle.
1887 H. Caine Deemster I. xii. 252 Those who sat above craned forward.
b. Of a camera mounted upon a crane: to alter range or direction.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > television > production of television broadcast > produce television broadcast [verb (intransitive)] > camera movement
dolly1939
crane1957
track1959
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > camera movements > [verb (intransitive)]
panoram1914
pan1928
truck1929
dolly1939
zoom1944
crane1957
track1959
whip-pan1960
1957 A. R. Manvell & J. Huntley Technique Film Music ii. 34 The camera cranes across the hall as she waltzes up to the steps.
1960 N. Kneale Mrs. Wickens in Fall 151 The Camera cranes downwards from the tapestry..down to the helmet of a suit of armour.
1962 Movie Sept. 4/2 The camera cranes up and moves in.
4. Hunting. To pull up at a hedge or other obstacle and look over before leaping; hence figurative to ‘look before one leaps’, hesitate at or shrink back from a danger, difficulty, etc. (colloquial).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > unwillingness > be unwilling [verb (intransitive)]
nillOE
loathea1200
to make it tough1297
forthinka1300
reckc1300
ruea1400
to make (it) strangec1405
to make strangenessc1407
stick1418
resistc1425
to make (it) strange?1456
steek1478
tarrowc1480
doubt1483
sunyie1488
to make (it) nice1530
stay1533
shentc1540
to make courtesy (at)1542
to make it scrupulous1548
to think (it) much1548
to make dainty of (anything)1555
to lie aback1560
stand1563
steek1573
to hang back1581
erch1584
to make doubt1586
to hang the groin1587
to make scruple (also a, no, etc., scruple)1589
yearn1597
to hang the winga1601
to make squeamish1611
smay1632
bogglea1638
to hang off1641
waver1643
reluct1648
shy1650
reluctate1655
stickle1656
scruple1660
to make boggle1667
revere1689
begrudge1690
to have scruples1719
stopc1738
bitch1777
reprobate1779
crane1823
disincline1885
the mind > emotion > fear > timidity > be timorous [verb (intransitive)] > hesitate or hang back through timidity
wondec897
arghc1175
scurnc1325
erch1584
to hang the winga1601
shirk1778
crane1823
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > hunt with hounds [verb (intransitive)] > on horseback > pull up at obstacle
crane1823
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XIV xxxiii. 131 He clear'd hedge, ditch, and double post, and rail, And never craned.
1844 J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & Widows III. liii. 260 A very fat pony, who would have craned if he had attempted to leap over a straw.
1849 E. E. Napier Excursions Southern Afr. II. 240 The bold fox-hunter, who..ne'er ‘craned’ at..stone-wall, or double-ditch.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1c1000
n.2?1541
v.1570