scarecrow

== English == === Etymology === The noun is derived from scare (“to frighten, startle, terrify”) +‎ crow (“bird of the genus Corvus”). The word displaced other terms such as bogle (now dialectal, dated), sewel or shewel, and shoy-hoy (perhaps imitative of the cry of crows). The verb is derived from the noun. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈskɛəkɹəʊ/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈskɛɚˌkɹoʊ/ Hyphenation: scare‧crow === Noun === scarecrow (plural scarecrows) An effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there. [from 1530s] Synonyms: see Thesaurus:scarecrow (by extension, derogatory) A person or animal regarded as resembling a scarecrow (sense 1) in some way; especially, a tall, thin, awkward person; or a person wearing ragged and tattered clothes. (tall, thin person): Synonym: beanpole (dated) Synonym of crow scarer (“a farmhand employed to scare birds from the fields”). (figuratively) Anything that appears terrifying but presents no danger; a paper tiger. (military, World War II, historical) Military equipment or tactics used to scare and deter rather than cause actual damage. (UK, dialectal, obsolete) The black tern (Chlidonias niger). The hooded crow (Corvus cornix). ==== Alternative forms ==== scare-crow, skarcrow (obsolete) ==== Coordinate terms ==== straw man ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Verb === scarecrow (third-person singular simple present scarecrows, present participle scarecrowing, simple past and past participle scarecrowed) (transitive) To cause (a person, their body, etc.) to look awkward and stiff, like a scarecrow (noun sense 1). To splay (one's arms) away from the body, like the arms of a scarecrow. To frighten or terrify (someone or something), as if using a scarecrow. (archaic) To spoil the appearance of (something, such as the landscape or a view), as scarecrows may be regarded as doing. ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === scarecrow on Wikipedia.Wikipedia scarecrow (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia