crotch C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary US /krɑtʃ/ UK /krɒtʃ/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the angle where the legs or two branches fork apart The cat napped in the crotch of the old oak tree. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the angle where the legs or... forkcrutchgroin Word family Derived forms crotched Related forms crutchcrook Etymology AI details Probably a variant of 'crutch' (Old English 'cryċċ', 'staff with a forked support'), influenced by 'crotchet'; the sense is 'the forking place'. cryċċ Old English View etymology graph -> Topics General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # crotch **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /krɑtʃ/ **IPA (UK):** /krɒtʃ/ ## Meanings 1. the angle where the legs or two branches fork apart ## Examples - The cat napped in the crotch of the old oak tree. ## Synonyms - fork - crutch - groin ## Derived Forms - crotched ## Related Forms - crutch - crook ## Roots and Affixes - Root: cryċċ ## Etymology Probably a variant of 'crutch' (Old English 'cryċċ', 'staff with a forked support'), influenced by 'crotchet'; the sense is 'the forking place'. ## AI Etymology Crotch has the etymological history Probably a variant of 'crutch' (Old English 'cryċċ', 'staff with a forked support'), influenced by 'crotchet'; the sense is 'the forking place'. The immediate etymological form is Old English cryċċ. In present use as a noun, it means "the angle where the legs or two branches fork apart", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include crutch and crook; derived forms include crotched. The surrounding word family keeps the same base visible in crotched, crutch, and crook, showing how the headword belongs to a larger cluster rather than standing alone. ## Topics - General Vocabulary markdown