crane
[kreyn]
- any large wading bird of the family Gruidae, characterized by long legs, bill, and neck and an elevated hind toe.
- (not used scientifically) any of various similar birds of other families, as the great blue heron.
- Machinery. a device for lifting and moving heavy weights in suspension.
- any of various similar devices, as a horizontally swinging arm by a fireplace, used for suspending pots over the fire.
- Movies, Television. a vehicle having a long boom on which a camera can be mounted for taking shots from high angles.
- Nautical. any of a number of supports for a boat or spare spar on the deck or at the side of a vessel.
- (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Grus.
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- to hoist, lower, or move by or as by a crane.
- to stretch (the neck) as a crane does.
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- to stretch out one's neck, especially to see better.
- to hesitate at danger, difficulty, etc.
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Origin of crane
before 1000; Middle English; Old English cran; cognate with German Kran, Greek géranos
Crane
[kreyn]
- (Harold) Hart,1899–1932, U.S. poet.
- Stephen,1871–1900, U.S. novelist, poet, and short-story writer.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for crane
Contemporary Examples
I made it physical, and the actors were really hanging from a crane 100 feet above the ground.
Michel Gondry on ‘Mood Indigo,’ Kanye West, and the 10th Anniversary of ‘Eternal Sunshine’Marlow Stern
July 20, 2014
A crane lifts each individual segment high into the air and then down into its place, one by one.
The joke was that the national bird of Dallas was the crane, with all the buildings going up everywhere.
Though Crane said he kept both lawyers from “trotting out the issue of race,” it remained “a 900-pound gorilla in the background.”
Bernhard Goetz on George Zimmerman: ‘The Same Thing Is Happening’Harry Siegel, Filipa Ioannou
July 12, 2013
It was in the middle of the night, like two in the morning, and I was so nauseous and they brought me down in the crane.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Julianne Moore Talk Sundance’s ‘Don Jon’s Addiction,’ Porn, and LoveMarlow Stern
January 20, 2013
Historical Examples
No man could close out an interview so effectually as Crane.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
Porter's voice made Crane jump; he had almost forgotten the race.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
Like an inspiration it came to the girl what had affected her so disagreeably in Crane—it was his eyes.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
"I wonder what he meant by that," Langdon mused to himself, as Crane moved away.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
"He did; but—" and Crane looked at Faust, with patient toleration of his lack of perception.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
crane
- 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 GruiformesSee also demoiselle (def. 1), whooping crane
- (not in ornithological use) any similar bird, such as a heron
- a device for lifting and moving heavy objects, typically consisting of a moving boom, beam, or gantry from which lifting gear is suspendedSee also gantry
- films a large trolley carrying a boom, on the end of which is mounted a camera
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- (tr) to lift or move (an object) by or as if by a crane
- to stretch out (esp the neck), as to see over other people's heads
- (intr) (of a horse) to pull up short before a jump
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Word Origin
Old English cran; related to Middle High German krane, Latin grūs, Greek géranos
Crane
- (Harold) Hart. 1899–1932, US poet; author of The Bridge (1930)
- Stephen. 1871–1900, US novelist and short-story writer, noted particularly for his novel The Red Badge of Courage (1895)
- Walter. 1845–1915, British painter, illustrator of children's books, and designer of textiles and wallpaper
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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).
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v.
"to stretch (the neck)," 1799, from crane (n.). Related: Craned; craning.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper