Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “crane” come from?

Crane comes from Middle English cran, from Old English cran, from Proto-Germanic kranô, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱerh₂-.

crane (English): Any bird of the family Gruidae, large birds with...

Definitions

  1. Any bird of the family Gruidae, large birds with...

Ancestry of “crane”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcranecrane; cranium
2Old Frenchcran—
3Medieval Latincraniumskull
4Ancient Greekκρανίονskull; head
5Ancient Greekκάραhead, face; the head or top of anything, as of a...
6Proto-Hellenic*kárahə—

Words derived from “crane”

  • cranage
  • cranefly
  • cranelike
  • craneman
  • minicrane
  • aircrane
  • helicrane
  • sarus crane
  • cranage
  • craein
  • เครน
  • ကရိန်း
Every word from Proto-Hellenic *kárahə →