Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “crony” come from?

Crony derives from Ancient Greek χρόνιος, from Ancient Greek χρόνος meaning time, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -yós.

crony (English): Close friend; Trusted companion or partner in a...

Definitions

  1. Close friend; Trusted companion or partner in a...

Ancestry of “crony”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekχρόνιοςafter a long time, late; for a long time, a long...
2Ancient Greek-ῐοςbelonging to; of”, “belonging to”, “pertaining to
3Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “crony”

  • cronyism
  • cronyistic
  • cronyist
  • Tony crony
  • noncrony
  • cronynomics
  • cronydom
  • kroni
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →