Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “crook” come from?

Crook comes from Middle English croke, from Old Norse krókr, meaning a hook or curved implement.

crook (English): A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure; A...

Definitions

  1. A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure; A...

Ancestry of “crook”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishcrookedsimple past tense and past participle of crook;...
2Middle Englishcroked—
3Middle EnglishcrokenTo be bent; to curve; To make bent; to crook; To...
4Old Englishcrācettanto croak
5Proto-Germanickrēk-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵerh₂-to grow old, to mature

Words derived from “crook”

  • crooked
  • crookedly
  • crookedness
  • cruck
  • crookback
  • crookneck
  • crookbacked
  • crookery
  • crooketh
  • acrook
  • uncrook
  • cybercrook
  • crookbill
  • crooken
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵerh₂- →