the Raven or Crow kind, a genus of birds of the order of picce. See Ornithology Index.

Corvus (Raven), in Astronomy, a constellation of the southern hemisphere; whose stars in Ptolemy's catalogue are 7; in Tycho's as many; in the Britannic catalogue 9.

Roman antiquity, a military engine, or rather gallery, moveable at pleasure by means of pulleys; chiefly used in boarding the enemy's ships to cover the men. The construction of the corvus was as follows: They erected on the prow of their vessels a round piece of timber, of about a foot and a half diameter, and about 12 feet long; on the top of which they had a block or pulley. Round this piece of timber they laid a stage or platform of boards, four feet broad, and about 18 feet long, which was well framed and fastened with iron. The entrance was long-ways, and it moved about on the above-mentioned upright piece of timber as on a spindle, and could be hoisted up within six feet of the top: about this was a sort of parapet knee-high, which was defended with upright bars of iron sharpened at the end, and towards the top there was a ring, by the help of which and a pulley or tackle, they raised or lowered the engine at pleasure. With this moveable gallery they boarded the enemy's vessels (when they did not oppose side to side).