crane
noun/kreɪn/
/kreɪn/
- a tall machine with a long arm, used to lift and move building materials and other heavy objectsTopics Engineeringc1, Buildingsc1
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- a large bird with long legs and a long neck see also blue craneTopics Birdsc2
Word Originnoun sense 1 Middle English: figuratively from crane the bird (the same sense development occurred in the related German Kran and Dutch kraan, and in French grue). The verb dates from the late 16th cent. noun sense 2 Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kraan and German Kran, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin grus and Greek geranos.
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