{ } n. The time at which cocks first crow; the early morning; the first light of day.
Syn. -- dawn, dawning, morning, aurora, first light, daybreak, break of day, break of the day, dayspring, sunrise, sunup. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

v. i. [ imp. Crew r Crowed p. p. Crowed (Crown Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Crowing. ] [ AS. crāwan; akin to D. kraijen, G. krähen, cf. Lith. groti to croak. √24. Cf. Crake. ] 1. To make the shrill sound characteristic of a cock, either in joy, gayety, or defiance. “The cock had crown.” Bayron. [ 1913 Webster ]

The morning cock crew loud. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To shout in exultation or defiance; to brag. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To utter a sound expressive of joy or pleasure. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sweetest little maid,
That ever crowed for kisses. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

To crow over, to exult over a vanquished antagonist. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sennacherib crowing over poor Jerusalem. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. crāwe a crow (in sense 1); akin to D. kraai, G. krähe; cf. Icel. krāka crow. So named from its cry, from AS. crāwan to crow. See Crow, v. i. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Zool.) A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles. It has a harsh, croaking note. See Caw. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The common crow of Europe, or carrion crow, is Corvus corone. The common American crow is Corvus Americanus. See Carrion crow, and Illustr., under Carrion. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A bar of iron with a beak, crook, or claw; a bar of iron used as a lever; a crowbar. [ 1913 Webster ]

Get me an iron crow, and bring it straight
Unto my cell. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The cry of the cock. See Crow, v. i., 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The mesentery of a beast; -- so called by butchers. [ 1913 Webster ]

Carrion crow. See under Carrion. --
Crow blackbird (Zool.), an American bird (Quiscalus quiscula); -- called also purple grackle. --
Crow pheasant (Zool.), an Indian cuckoo; the common coucal. It is believed by the natives to give omens. See Coucal. --
Crow shrike (Zool.), any bird of the genera Gymnorhina, Craticus, or Strepera, mostly from Australia. --
Red-legged crow. See Crough. --
As the crow flies, in a direct line. --
To pick a crow,
To pluck a crow, to state and adjust a difference or grievance (with any one). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. escroe, escroue, a roll of writings, bond. See Scroll. ] (Law) A deed, bond, or other written engagement, delivered to a third person, to be held by him till some act is done or some condition is performed, and then to be by him delivered to the grantee. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. gor dung, dirt. See Gore blood, dirt. ] (Zool.) The carrion crow; -- called also gercrow. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A negro; -- said to be so called from a popular negro dance song, the refrain of which is “Wheel about and turn about and jump Jim Crow, ” produced in 1835 by Thomas D. Rice (1808-1860), a famous negro minstrel; -- considered disparaging and offensive. [ Offensive slang, U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. A legally sanctioned system of racial discrimination practised in the southern United States until declared unconstitutional in 1953 and further restricted by federal legislation, by means of which negroes were segregated and discriminated against in employment and in many places of public accommodation, such as parks, commercial establishments, and public transportation. [ PJC ]

a. For negroes only; set aside for used of negroes as a policy of racial discrimination. [ PJC ]

n. (Mach.) 1. A machine for bending or straightening rails. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A planing machine with a reversing tool, to plane both ways. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Zool.) The common European crow. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To crow, exult, or boast, over; to overpower. Spenser. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ A corruption of Paragraph. ] (Print.) a paragraph mark, ¶. [ Obs. ] Tusser. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ So called from Royston, a town in England. ] (Zool.) See Hooded crow, under Hooded. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Anything set up to frighten crows or other birds from cornfields; hence, anything terifying without danger. [ 1913 Webster ]

A scarecrow set to frighten fools away. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A person clad in rags and tatters. [ 1913 Webster ]

No eye hath seen such scarecrows. I'll not march with them through Coventry, that's flat. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) The black tern. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Escrow, Scroll. ] 1. A scroll. [ Obs. ] Palsgrave. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A clipping from skins; a currier's cuttings. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Zool.) (a) The chough. [ Ireland ] (b) The cormorant. (c) The blackheaded pewit, and other gulls. (d) The skua. (e) The razorbill. [ Orkney Islands ] (f) The coot. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ So called in allusion to its dark plumage. ] (Zool.) (a) The dipper. (b) The European coot. [ 1913 Webster ]