Hypertext Webster Gateway: "heron"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Heron
(Lev. 11:19; Deut. 14:18), ranked among the unclean birds. The
Hebrew name is _'anaphah_, and indicates that the bird so named
is remarkable for its angry disposition. "The herons are
wading-birds, peculiarly irritable, remarkable for their
voracity, frequenting marshes and oozy rivers, and spread over
the regions of the East." The Ardea russeta, or little golden
egret, is the commonest species in Asia.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Heron \Her"on\, n. [OE. heiroun, heroun, heron, hern, OF.
hairon, F. h['e]ron, OHG. heigir; cf. Icel. hegri, Dan.
heire, Sw. h["a]ger, and also G. h["a]her jay, jackdaw, OHG.
hehara, higere, woodpecker, magpie, D. reiger heron, G.
reiher, AS. hr[=a]gra. Cf. {Aigret}, {Egret}.] (Zo["o]l.)
Any wading bird of the genus {Ardea} and allied genera, of
the family {Ardeid[ae]}. The herons have a long, sharp bill,
and long legs and toes, with the claw of the middle toe
toothed. The common European heron ({Ardea cinerea}) is
remarkable for its directly ascending flight, and was
formerly hunted with the larger falcons.
Note: There are several common American species; as, the
great blue heron ({Ardea herodias}); the little blue
({A. c[oe]rulea}); the green ({A. virescens}); the
snowy ({A. candidissima}); the night heron or qua-bird
({Nycticorax nycticorax}). The plumed herons are called
{egrets}.
{Heron's bill} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Erodium}; -- so
called from the fancied resemblance of the fruit to the
head and beak of the heron.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
Heron
n 1: Greek mathematician and inventor who devised a way to
determine the area of a triangle and who described
various mechanical devices (first century) [syn: {Hero},
{Heron}, {Hero of Alexandria}]
2: gray or white wading bird with long neck and long legs and
(usually) long bill
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