Made a deep, harsh sound like a frog or raven. In slang, it can mean died or spoke in a rough, hoarse voice.
From Middle English 'croken', imitative of the sound made by frogs and ravens. The slang meaning 'to die' emerged in the 19th century, possibly from the death rattle or the association with ravens as omens of death.
The connection between 'croaking' and death illustrates how deeply sound symbolism is embedded in language - harsh, guttural sounds are universally associated with unpleasant or ominous things across cultures. The word's journey from describing animal sounds to human mortality shows how metaphor bridges the natural and human worlds.
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