crony
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
crony¹
- /ˈkɹoʊni/ US
- /ˈkɹəʊni/ UK
Rhymes with -əʊni
Where it comes from
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.
noun cronies · chrony
-
A close friend.
Rip now resumed his old walks and habits; he soon found many of his former cronies, though all rather the worse for the wear and tear of time; and preferred making friends among the rising generation, with whom he soon grew into great favour.
Similar: babber, billy, bredrin, bruv, bud, buddo, buddy, butty, chaver, china, chuck, chum · Opposite: noncrony
- A trusted companion or partner in a criminal organization.
crony²
- /ˈkɹoʊni/ US
- /ˈkɹəʊni/ UK
Rhymes with -əʊni
noun cronies
- An old woman; a crone. Marry not an old crony.
Translations
Talk about this word "crony." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/crony. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. crony. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/crony "crony." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/crony.Cite this
@misc{crony_2026,
title = {crony},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/crony},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
