The verb κραζω (krazo) means to croak in the sense of to produce the sound a crow or raven makes. It's thought to be onomatopoeic (a word imitating a natural sound) and is used as such in modern Dutch: krassen. This is remarkable because that verb is closely related to kruisen, or to cross or better: criss-cross. The French word cris means to scream or cry, and relates to our English verb "to cry" via the Latin verb quirito, which in turn relates to the name Quirinus.

The Hebrew verb for criss-crossing is ערב ('arab), from whence comes the name Arabia, which was thus originally known as the place of criss-crossing (namely the vast desert by nomads and caravans). Another derivation is the noun ערב ('oreb), meaning raven; the bird that criss-crosses.

All this suggests that our verb κραζω (krazo) does not so much express the mere act of producing a verbal sound but rather the act of traversing by means of sound: the tying together of two distant locations by means of a verbal expression. Our verb describes a crying specifically for attention or help or any sort of concern from the receiver of the sound, and with the specific objective to engage in a relationship with the receiver (as opposed to crying out of pain or crying to deter).

Our verb is used 59 times in the New Testament, see full concordance, and from it derive: