Plural of heron; large wading birds with long legs, long necks, and long beaks that hunt in water.
From Old French hairon, possibly from a Frankish source (related to German Reiher), the word traveled through Romance languages before entering Middle English.
Herons can stand perfectly motionless for hours while hunting—they have special vertebrae that lock in place, which is why statues of patient people sometimes reference 'standing like a heron,' though few people remember the original bird.
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