cranes

Noun

crane (plural cranes)

1. Any bird of the family Gruidae, large birds with long legs and a long neck which is extended during flight.
   • Aquatic birds of various kinds are very numerous, such as geese, darters (Flotus melanogaster), scissor-bills (Rhynchops nigra), adjutants (Leptoptilos argala), pelicans, cormorants, cranes (Grus antigone, in Burmese gyoja), whimbrels, plovers, and ibises.1876, "Burmah" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. IV, p. 552
2. (US, dialectal) Ardea herodias, the great blue heron.
3. A mechanical lifting machine or device, often used for lifting heavy loads for industrial or construction purposes.
   • Large cranes were virtually non-existent in the areas I worked with this truck, so we jacked everything on and off[.]2000, Bob Foster, Birdum or Bust!, Henley Beach, SA: Seaview Press, page 111
4. An iron arm with horizontal motion, attached to the side or back of a fireplace for supporting kettles etc. over the fire.
5. A siphon, or bent pipe, for drawing liquors out of a cask.
6. A forked post or projecting bracket to support spars, etc.; generally used in pairs.

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