scarecrow

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

SCARECROW, noun [scarce and crow.] 1. Any frightful thing set up to frighten crows or other fowls from corn fields; hence, any thing terrifying without danger; a vain terror. A scarecrow set to frighten fools away. 2. A fowl of the sea gull kind; the black gull.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

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