crook

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a dishonest person, or a bent or hooked thing

   The shopkeeper called the swindler a crook to his face.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Crook comes from Old Norse krokr, meaning “hook,” and originally denoted a hooked tool or weapon. Medieval English also used it for a dishonest or crooked act. That sense seems to have disappeared from the record by the 17th century, but the word reappeared for villains in late 19th-century America.

From Middle English 'crok', borrowed from Old Norse 'krókr' ('hook, bend'); the 'dishonest person' sense (a 'bent' character) is a 19th-century American development.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary