heron
noun/ˈhɛɹən/
Etymology From Middle English heron, heroun, heiron, from Anglo-Norman heiron, from Medieval Latin hairō, from Frankish and Proto-West Germanic *hraigrō, from Proto-Germanic *haigrô (compare Swedish häger and Danish hejre), dissimilation of *hraigrô (compare Old English hrāgra, Dutch reiger, German Reiher), from imitative Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreik-, *(s)kreig- (“to screech, creak”) (compare Welsh crëyr (“heron”), Ancient Greek κρίζω (krízō, “to creak, screech”). Compare also egret from the same Germanic etymon.
1
Any long-legged, long-necked wading bird of the family Ardeidae.
- Derived terms
26 terms
American night heron, black-crowned night heron, great blue heron, great white heron, green heron, grey heron, heronlike, heronry, heronsbill, Herons Creek, Japanese night heron, Louisiana heron, Malayan night heron, mangrove heron, Nankeen night heron, night heron, Pacific reef heron, pond heron, purple heron, Rodrigues night heron, rufous night heron, squacco heron, striated heron, tiger heron, tricolored heron, white-faced heron