What does corby mean?
Corby is a chiefly Scottish and Northern English dialect word for a crow or raven, one of the large black birds of the corvid family. It carries strong rural and literary associations: it appears in traditional ballads such as 'The Twa Corbies', where the birds serve as grim scavengers and omens over a battlefield, and it lingers in folk speech wherever crows gather over ploughed fields. Beyond its use as a bird name, Corby is familiar to most people today as a place name — most notably the industrial new town of Corby in Northamptonshire, whose name derives instead from an early medieval personal name, illustrating how the same string of letters can carry entirely separate histories. As a common noun, corby belongs to the vocabulary of dialect, folklore, and nature writing rather than standard modern English, giving it a rustic, evocative flavour when it does appear.
nounA raven or crow, especially in Scots and Northern English dialect. Also the name of several places in Britain and North America.
- A raven or carrion crow, especially in Scots and Northern English folk speech.
- A place name, notably the industrial town of Corby in Northamptonshire, England, and various other settlements.
- In folklore and traditional song, a corby appears as an omen or scavenger bird (as in the ballad 'The Twa Corbies').
"The old corby perched on the drystone wall, watching the lambing field below."
"She watched a corby pick at the stubble long after the harvest was done."
"The ballad's two corbies discourse grimly over a slain knight left unburied."
Rarely needed; used mainly in dialect or ballad contexts, where 'corbie' is the more usual Scots spelling.
"The corbies gathered on the gallows tree at dawn."
The town of Corby in Northamptonshire owes its name to a Danish settler named Kori — but ask a Scots farmer about 'the corby' and he'll point you to the crows stealing his seed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of corby
As a bird name, corby comes from Old French 'corb', from Latin 'corvus', meaning raven, and entered Scots and Northern English usage through medieval contact with Anglo-Norman French; its close cousin 'corbie' remains the standard Scots form. The place name Corby in Northamptonshire has an unrelated origin, deriving from an Old Norse personal name (Kori) plus the Old Norse suffix '-by' meaning farmstead or settlement. The two strands should not be conflated despite sharing a form.
How corby is actually used
Corby is essentially a regional and literary word: it survives in Scots, Northern English dialect, and folk ballads rather than everyday modern speech. Outside these contexts readers will usually encounter it as a place name.
Easily confused with corby
Corvette is a small fast warship or sports car, whereas corby is a dialect word for a crow or raven.
A corker is something outstanding or remarkable, while a corby is simply a crow or raven.