crony

C2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈkɹoʊni/ UK /ˈkɹəʊni/ See IPA manual

Freq #64109

Meanings

1

noun
A close friend or companion, often one who shares in someone's activities.

He spent the evening playing cards with his old cronies.
2

noun
A friend given unfair favours by someone in power.

The mayor handed every contract to his political cronies.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a close friend or... buddy chum pal

Word family

Forms cronies

Derived forms cronydomcronyishcronyismcronyistcronyisticcronynomicsnoncrony

Etymology

Coined between 1655 and 1665 from Ancient Greek χρόνιος (khrónios, “perennial, long-lasting”); see also chrono- (“time”). Initially Cambridge University slang, in sense of “chum”, as “friend of long standing”, with illegal connotation later. Early spellings included chrony, as in 1665 diary by Samuel Pepys, supporting the Greek origin.

χρόνιος Ancient Greek

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Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

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# crony

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɹoʊni/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɹəʊni/
**Frequency rank:** 64109

## Meanings
1. A close friend or companion, often one who shares in someone's activities.
2. A friend given unfair favours by someone in power.

## Examples
- He spent the evening playing cards with his old cronies.
- The mayor handed every contract to his political cronies.

## Derived Forms
- cronydom
- cronyish
- cronyism
- cronyist
- cronyistic
- cronynomics
- noncrony

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: χρόνιος

## Etymology
Coined between 1655 and 1665 from Ancient Greek χρόνιος (khrónios, “perennial, long-lasting”); see also chrono- (“time”). Initially Cambridge University slang, in sense of “chum”, as “friend of long standing”, with illegal connotation later. Early spellings included chrony, as in 1665 diary by Samuel Pepys, supporting the Greek origin.

## AI Etymology
Crony was coined between 1655 and 1665 from Ancient Greek χρόνιος (khrónios, “perennial, long-lasting”); see also chrono- (“time”). Initially Cambridge University slang, in sense of “chum”, as “friend of long standing”, with illegal connotation later. Early spellings included chrony, as in 1665 diary by Samuel Pepys, supporting the Greek origin. Important recorded forms include χρόνιος (Ancient Greek). Current senses include a close friend or companion, often one who shares in someone's activities and a friend given unfair favours by someone in power. The wider family includes derived forms such as cronydom, cronyish, cronyism, cronyist, and cronyistic.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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crony

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