korhaan, noun
- Forms:
- Show more Also coran, coranne, corhaan, corhan, khoraan, khoran, koerhaan, kooran, koor haan, koor-haen, koorhan, koraan, koran, korhaen, korhan, korhane, korran, korrhan, kor-rhaan, korr-haen.
- Plurals:
- unchanged, korhaans, or (formerly) korhanen.
- Origin:
- DutchShow more Imitative of the bird’s call; transferred use of Dutch korhaan or knorhaan a name for the male of the black grouse Lyrurus tetrix, from korren to coo + haan cock; cf. knorhaan.
1.
a. Any of several species of bird of the Otididae, especially Eupodotis cafra (the black korhaan, see sense b below); core-hen; knorhaan sense 1 a; vlakpou, vlaktepou, see pou sense 2.
1776 F. Masson in Phil. Trans. of Royal Soc. LXVI. 317The fields abounded also with korhaans (a kind of bustard), partridges, hares &c and great flocks of ostriches.
1985 Style Oct. 90There’s a rich bird life..; from the korhaans, blue cranes and secretary-birds to the small multi-hued rollers.
b. With distinguishing epithet denoting a particular species of korhaan:
bont korhaan obsolete [Dutch bont variegated, see bont], an unidentified species of korhaan, probably the black korhaan (see above);
1923 Haagner & Ivy Sketches of S. Afr. Bird-Life 215Barrow’s Korhaan (Otis borrovii) can be distinguished..by the patches of tawny on either side of the chest and the white abdomen.
1993 G.L. Maclean Roberts’ Birds of Sn Afr. 211Black Korhaan...Status: Very common resident. Populations outside of sw Cape winter-rainfall area have white in remiges (sc. flight feathers of wing); may be separate species, Whitequilled (or Whitewinged) Korhaan Eupodotis afraoides.
2. rare. knorhaan sense 2 a.
1913 W.W. Thompson Sea Fisheries of Cape Col. 12It was so easy to catch them that one could not quickly enough throw the hooks into the water in order to draw them up again with ‘Korhanen’, red, spotted, and other fish.
Any of several species of bird of the Otididae, especially Eupodotis cafra (the black korhaan, see sense b below); core-hen; knorhaan sense 1 a; vlakpou, vlaktepou, see pou sense 2.
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