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Added 9 October 2026

cranny

/ˈkɹæni/ noun

Latin root: crenō Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cranny at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A long narrow depression in a surface.
A small opening or crevice (especially in a rock face or wall).

Origin

From Middle English crany, crani (“cranny”), apparently a diminutive of *cran (+ -y), from Old French cran, cren (“notch, fissure”), a derivative of crener (“to notch, split”), from Medieval Latin crenō (“split”, verb), from Vulgar Latin *crinō (“split, break”, verb), of obscure origin; according to Watkins, of Gaulish origin, from Proto-Celtic *krīnos (“decayed, withered”). Despite a spurious use in Pliny, connection to Latin crēna (“notch, incision”) is doubtful. Instead, probably of Germanic or Celtic origin.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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