crotchet
[ kroch-it ]
/ ˈkrɒtʃ ɪt /
noun
an odd fancy or whimsical notion.
a small hook.
a hooklike device or part.
Entomology. a small, hooklike process.
Music. Chiefly British. a quarter note.
a curved surgical instrument with a sharp hook.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- crosswort,
- crostini,
- crotal,
- crotalin,
- crotch,
- crotchety,
- crotchwood,
- croton,
- croton bug,
- croton oil
Origin of crotchet
SYNONYMS FOR crotchet
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for crotchet
crotchet
/ (ˈkrɒtʃɪt) /
noun
music a note having the time value of a quarter of a semibreveUsual US and Canadian name: quarter note
a small hook or hooklike device
a perverse notion
zoology a small notched or hooked process, as in an insect
Word Origin for crotchet
C14: from Old French crochet, literally: little hook, from croche hook; see crocket
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
crotchet
late 14c., "crocket," later "small hook" (early 15c.), from Old French crochet (pronounced "crotchet") "hook" (see crochet). As a surgical instrument, from 1750. Figurative use in musical notation is from mid-15c., from the shape of the notes. Meaning "whimsical fancy" is from 1570s; perhaps from the same mechanical image in crank; but other authorities link this sense to the musical notation one.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper