crone

American  

[krohn] / kroʊn /

noun

1. an old woman, especially one perceived as frightening or ill-tempered.

   A wrinkly, ragged old crone was sitting in the corner by the woodstove, wrapped in a shawl.

   Don’t be intimidated by that crotchety old crone.

2. a witch.

   They figured the pear tree wasn’t bearing because the village crone had cursed it with the evil eye.

3. Crone, (in Neopaganism) the third form of the Goddess, represented as an old woman and said to symbolize maturity, wisdom, and the final stages of life or growth.

4. a woman past the age of menopause, regarded as a person of maturity and wisdom (also used attributively).

   Our first speaker is a crone, herbalist, and therapist who specializes in counseling women.

   The course looks at grandmothers represented in literature as repositories of crone wisdom, from early to modern times.

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crone British  

/ krəʊn /

noun

1. a witchlike old woman

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Other Word Forms

• cronish adjective

Etymology

Origin of crone

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle Dutch croonie “old ewe,” from Old North French caronie carrion