An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/krähen

by Friedrich Kluge

krähen, verb, ‘to crow,’ from the equivalent Middle High German krœ̂n, krœ̂jen (preterite krâte), Old High German chrâen, verb; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon crâwan (preterite creów), English to crow, and the equivalent Dutch kraaijen; a specifically West Teutonic verb, in Gothic hrûkjan. That it was not originally used of the cock alone is attested by the etymology of Krähe, and also by the compounds, Old High German hanachrât, Old Saxon hanocrâd, Anglo-Saxon hancrêd, ‘cock-crow, crowing.’ The Teutonic stem. krê-, krêw may be connected with Old Slovenian grąja, grajati, ‘to croak,’ and Lithuanian gróju, gróti, ‘to croak.’