crone

English

Etymology

From Middle English crone, from Anglo-Norman carogne (compare central Old French charogne (a term of abuse, literally “carrion, carcass, old sheep, hag”), whence modern French charogne). Doublet of carrion.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /kɹoʊn/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kɹəʊn/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊn
• Homophone: crosne

Noun

crone (plural crones)

1. (archaic) An old woman.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:old woman

   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “The Wife of Bathe’s Tale. As it was Written by Geffrey Chaucer”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC:

     But still the crone was constant to her note.

2. An archetypal figure, a Wise Woman.
3. An ugly, evil-looking, or frightening old woman; a hag.
   • 2005, J. M. Coetzee, “Six”, in Slow Man, New York: Viking, →ISBN, page 36:

     With black unseeing eyes the old woman, the crone, stares at him and through him. Over and over she mutters a word that he cannot quite catch, something like Toomderoom.

4. (obsolete) An old ewe.
   • 1557 February 13, Thomas Tusser, A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie., London: Richard Tottel, →OCLC; republished London: Robert Triphook, , and William Sancho, , 1810, →OCLC:

     In traveling homeward, buy forty good crones, and fat up the bodies of those seely bones

5. (obsolete) An old man, especially one who talks and acts like an old woman.
   • 1822 May 21, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Haunted House”, in Bracebridge Hall, or The Humourists. A Medley. , volume II, New York, N.Y.: C. S. Van Winkle, , →OCLC, page 210:

     The old crone [a negro man] lived in a hovel, in the midst of a small patch of potatoes and Indian corn, which his master had given him on setting him free.

   • 1844, Benjamin Disraeli, Coningsby:

     A few old battered crones of office.

Translations

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “crone”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Ceron, Creon, Oncer, necro, necro-, oncer, recon

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch corōna, from Latin corōna. Doublet of crune.

Noun

crône f

1. crown, wreath

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

• crônen

Descendants

• Dutch: kroon
  • Afrikaans: kroon
  • → Indonesian: kerun
  • Negerhollands: kroon
• Limburgish: kroean

Further reading

• “crone”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “crone (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

Middle English

Noun

crone

1. Alternative form of crane (“crane”)