crone

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crone¹

  • /kɹoʊn/ US
  • /kɹəʊn/ UK

Sounds like crosne · Rhymes with -əʊn

Where it comes from

From Middle English crone, from Anglo-Norman carogne (compare central Old French charogne (a term of abuse, literally “carrion, carcass, old sheep, hag”), whence modern French charogne). Doublet of carrion.

noun crones

  1. archaic An old woman. But still the crone was constant to her note.

    Similar: old woman, babushka, bag, bat, beldame, biddy, bluehair, bubbe, carline, carlin, crone, gammer

  2. The archetypal figure of a wise woman. “And what is your name, crispy, old, wizened crone?” “Oh, my name's Helen.” “Hel-- Oh, just Helen. That's it. Just Helen?” “Helen the Magic Woman.” “And you can help me rid myself of this disgusting hex?” “Yes.”
  3. An ugly, evil-looking, or frightening old woman; a hag. With black unseeing eyes the old woman, the crone, stares at him and through him. Over and over she mutters a word that he cannot quite catch, something like Toomderoom.
  4. obsolete An old ewe. In traveling homeward, buy forty good crones, and fat up the bodies of those seely bones
  5. obsolete An old man, especially one who talks and acts like an old woman. The old crone [a negro man] lived in a hovel, in the midst of a small patch of potatoes and Indian corn, which his master had given him on setting him free.

Crone²

noun Crones

  1. One of the triune goddesses of the Lady in Wicca alongside the Mother and Maiden, representing an old woman. […] different stages of life as represented by our Lady as Maiden, Mother, and Crone, as well as our Lord as Master, Father, and Sage.

Opposite: Sage

Thesaurus

noun

Opposite: Sage

Translations

Every language

noun ugly evil-looking or frightening old woman; a hag

Españolbruja
日本語鬼女 kijo
Portuguêsbruxa
Françaissorcière, mégère
Italianostrega
Românăcotoroanță, baborniță, hoașcă
Русскийкарга́ kargá

noun old woman

日本語クローネ, お婆さん obāsan, 祖母 sobo, 外祖母 gaisobo
Portuguêscoroa
Françaisvieille
Românăbabă
Русскийстару́ха starúxa

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Cite this
MLA

"crone." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/crone. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

crone. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/crone

Chicago

"crone." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/crone.

BibTeX
@misc{crone_2026,
  title = {crone},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/crone},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}