croak

See also: Croak

English

Etymology

From Middle English *croken, crouken, (also represented by craken > crake), back-formation from Old English crācettan (“to croak”) (also in derivative crǣcettung (“croaking”)), from Proto-Germanic *krēk- (compare Swedish kråka, German krächzen), potentially from Proto-Indo-European *greh₂-g- (compare Sanskrit गर्जति (garjati, “to growl”); also Latin grāculus (“jackdaw”), Serbo-Croatian grákati from *greh₂-k-), of onomatopoeic origin.

Pronunciation

• (General American) enPR: krōk, IPA^(key): /kɹoʊk/
• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: krōk, IPA^(key): /kɹəʊk/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊk

Noun

croak (plural croaks)

1. A faint, harsh sound made in the throat.
2. The call of a frog or toad. (see also ribbit)
3. The harsh call of various birds, such as the raven or corncrake, or other creatures.

Translations

a faint, harsh sound made in the throat

• Greek: κρωγμός (el) m (krogmós)
• Hebrew: חרחור m (khirkhúr)
• Hungarian: krákogás (hu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hark n

• Russian: хрип (ru) m (xrip) (wheeze)

the sound of a frog or toad

• Arabic: نَقِيق (ar) m (naqīq)
• Assamese: টুৰ টুৰ (tur tur)
• Azerbaijani: vaqqıltı, qurultu
• Bulgarian: ква́кане n (kvákane)
• Catalan: rauc (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 呱呱 (zh) (guāguā)

• Czech: kvákání impf
• Danish: kvæk n
• Dutch: kwak (nl), gekwaak (nl) n
• Esperanto: kvako
• Estonian: krooks
• French: coassement (fr) m
• Georgian: ყიყინი (q̇iq̇ini)
• German: Quaken n
• Greek: κουάξ (kouáx)
• Hebrew: קרקור m (kirkúr)
• Hungarian: brekegés (hu), vartyogás (hu), kuruttyolás (hu)
• Irish: grág f
• Italian: gracidio (it) m
• Japanese: ケロケロ (kero kero)
• Korean: 개굴개굴 (ko) (gaegulgaegul)
• Maori: ōkaka
• Polish: rechot (pl) m
• Portuguese: coaxada f, coaxo (pt) m
• Russian: ква́канье (ru) n (kvákanʹje)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: кре̏ке̄т m

  Latin: krȅkēt (sh) m

• Spanish: croac m
• Swedish: kväk m
• Tagalog: kokak
• Turkish: vıraklama
• Ukrainian: ква́кання f (kvákannja)

the harsh sound of various birds, particularly the raven or crow — see caw

Verb

croak (third-person singular simple present croaks, present participle croaking, simple past and past participle croaked)

1. (intransitive) To make a croak.
2. (transitive) To utter in a low, hoarse voice.
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:

     The raven himself is hoarse, / That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan.

3. (intransitive, of a frog, toad, raven, or various other birds or animals) To make its sound.
4. (slang) To die.
5. (transitive, slang) To kill someone or something.

   He'd seen my face, so I had to croak him.

   • 1920 June, The Electrical Experimenter, New York, page 216, column 2:

     "It was me. And I'm glad, damned glad, I didn't croak him. With this slick guy after me, it would be me for the chair."

   • 1925, G. K. Chesterton, The Arrow of Heaven (first published in Nash's Pall Mall Magazine, Jul 1925)

     If Wilton croaked the criminal he did a jolly good day's work, and there's an end of it.

6. To complain; especially, to grumble; to forebode evil; to utter complaints or forebodings habitually.
   • 1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, (please specify the book or page number):

     Marat […] croaks with such reasonableness.

7. (programming slang, Perl) To abort the current program indicating a user or caller error.
   • 2002, Nathan Patwardhan, Ellen Siever, Stephen Spainhour, Perl, O'Reilly, →ISBN, page 200:

     The accessor croaks if it's not an appropriate object reference.

Derived terms

• croaking gourami

 

Translations

to make a croak

• Bulgarian: крякам (bg) (krjakam)
• Catalan: raucar (ca)
• Danish: skrige
• Dutch: rochelen (nl)
• Finnish: korahtaa, korahdella (fi)
• French: coasser (fr), croasser (fr)
• German: krächzen (de)
• Greek: κράζω (el) (krázo)
• Hungarian: krákog (hu)
• Latin: crōciō
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: harke

• Portuguese: grasnir, grasnar (pt)
• Russian: хрипе́ть (ru) (xripétʹ) (to wheeze)

of a frog, to make its sound

• Arabic: نَقَّ (naqqa)
• Assamese: টুৰ টুৰা (tur tura)
• Azerbaijani: quruldamaq, vaqqıldamaq
• Breton: koagal (br)
• Bulgarian: ква́кам (bg) impf (kvákam)
• Catalan: raucar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 呱呱 (zh) (guāguā)

• Czech: kvákat (cs) impf
• Danish: kvække
• Dutch: kwaken (nl)
• Esperanto: kvaki
• Estonian: krooksuma
• Finnish: kurnuttaa (fi)
• French: coasser (fr)
• Galician: croar (gl)
• Georgian: ყიყინებს (q̇iq̇inebs)
• German: quaken (de)
• Greek: κοάζω (el) (koázo)
• Hebrew: קִרְקֵר (he) (qirqér)
• Hungarian: brekeg (hu), vartyog (hu), kuruttyol (hu)
• Indonesian: menguak (id)
• Ingrian: krookkaa
• Italian: gracidare (it)
• Japanese: ゲロゲロ鳴く (gerogero naku)
• Latin: coaxō, quaxō
• Maori: ōkaka
• Polish: rechotać (pl) impf, kumkać impf
• Portuguese: coaxar (pt)
• Russian: ква́кать (ru) impf (kvákatʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: крекѐтати impf, крекѐтнути pf

  Latin: krekètati (sh) impf, krekètnuti (sh) pf

• Slovak: kvákať impf
• Spanish: croar (es)
• Swedish: kväka (sv)
• Tagalog: kumokak
• Turkish: vıraklamak
• Ukrainian: ква́кати impf (kvákaty)

slang: to die

• Azerbaijani: qəbərmək, gorbagor olmaq, çezmək
• Bulgarian: умирам (bg) (umiram)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嗝屁 (zh) (gěpì, gěrpì)

• Dutch: de pijp uit gaan, sneven (nl)
• Estonian: kärvama
• French: crever (fr), clamser (fr)
• German: krepieren (de), abkratzen (de)
• Italian: crepare (it)
• Japanese: くたばる (ja) (kutabaru)
• Korean: 뒤지다 (ko) (dwijida), 뒈지다 (ko) (dwejida), 골로 가다 (gollo gada)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: krepere

• Russian: сдыха́ть (ru) impf (sdyxátʹ), сдо́хнуть (ru) pf (sdóxnutʹ)
• Spanish: (colloquial) palmar (es), (colloquial) palmarla, (colloquial) espicharla
• Ukrainian: ґи́ґнути pf (gýgnuty), здиха́ти impf (zdyxáty), здо́хнути pf (zdóxnuty), подиха́ти impf (podyxáty), подо́хнути pf (podóxnuty)

of a raven, to make its sound — see caw

slang: to kill

• Bulgarian: убивам (bg) (ubivam)
• Catalan: matar (ca)
• French: crever (fr), buter (fr)

  Old French: morir (transitive; takes avoir as auxiliary)

• Italian: terminare (it)
• Polish: zabić (pl)
• Portuguese: matar (pt)
• Russian: замочи́ть (ru) pf (zamočítʹ), ко́кнуть (ru) pf (kóknutʹ), завали́ть (ru) pf (zavalítʹ)
• Spanish: matar (es)