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* As a Scottish and Irish surname, variant of Crow. * As a German surname, from a variant of Grau, Krahe, Kray.

Late Middle English, also attested as craue, from or related to Old Norse *kravi (“neck, collar, gullet, crop of a bird”), of unclear origin (potentially cognate to crop), but historically a variation of kragi, the Norse analog of English crag. If craw and crag are cognates, then ultimately deriving from Proto-Germanic *kragô or Proto-West Germanic *kragō (“throat”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *gʷrogʰ- or *gʷrh₃-gʰ- (“throat, gullet”), whence also Proto-Celtic *brāgants (“throat, gullet”) and perhaps Ancient Greek βρόχθος (brókhthos, “throat”). The root appears to be an extension of Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- (“to swallow, devour”), though the identity and meaning of the suffix is unclear. Compare Latin gurges (“gulf, bay; whirlpool, eddy”). Other Germanic cognates include Swedish kräva (“crop of a bird”), Danish krave (“collar, crop of a bird”); Dutch kraag, Middle Dutch crāghe, Old Dutch kraga; German Kragen, Middle Low German krage, Middle High German krage, Old High German krago (“collar, neck”). See also crag (Etymology 2).