Where does “crookery” come from?
crookery (English) comes from English crook, from English crooked, from Middle English croked, from Middle English croken, from Old English crācettan, from Proto-Germanic krēk-, from Proto-Indo-European ǵerh₂- — to grow old, to mature.
crookery (English): The activities of crooks; crime
Definitions
- The activities of crooks; crime
Ancestry of “crookery”, step by step
crookery traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English crook
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | crook | A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure; A... |
| 2 | English | crooked | simple past tense and past participle of crook;... |
| 3 | Middle English | croked | — |
| 4 | Middle English | croken | To be bent; to curve; To make bent; to crook; To... |
| 5 | Old English | crācettan | to croak |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | krēk- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵerh₂- | to grow old, to mature |
via English ery
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ery | — |