crony

  • 1crony — cro ny (kr[=o] n[y^]), n.; pl. {Cronies} (kr[=o] n[i^]z). [Orig., an old woman. See {Crone}.] 1. A crone. [Obs.] Marry not an old crony. Burton. [1913 Webster] 2. An intimate companion; a familiar friend. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] He soon found… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2crony — 1660s, Cambridge student slang, probably from Gk. khronios long lasting, from khronos time, and with a sense of old friend, or contemporary …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 3crony — comrade, companion, *associate Analogous words: intimate, *friend, confidant …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 4crony — [n] ally, companion accomplice, acquaintance, associate, bosom buddy*, buddy, chum, colleague, comate, comrade, confidant, friend, good buddy*, intimate, mate, pal, partner, sidekick*; concept 423 Ant. enemy, foe …

    New thesaurus

  • 5crony — ► NOUN (pl. cronies) informal, often derogatory ▪ a close friend or companion. ORIGIN originally Cambridge university slang: from Greek khronios long lasting (here used to mean «contemporary»); compare with CHUM(Cf. ↑chummy) …

    English terms dictionary

  • 6crony — [krō′nē] n. pl. cronies [Brit university slang < ? Gr chronios, long continued (hence taken as “old friend”) < chronos, time] a close companion …

    English World dictionary

  • 7crony — UK [ˈkrəʊnɪ] / US [ˈkroʊnɪ] noun [countable] Word forms crony : singular crony plural cronies showing disapproval a friend or supporter, especially of someone powerful …

    English dictionary

  • 8crony — Synonyms and related words: ace, adjunct, ally, amigo, associate, bedfellow, bedmate, bosom buddy, brother, brother in arms, buddy, bunkie, bunkmate, butty, camarade, chamberfellow, chum, classmate, coadjutor, cohort, colleague, comate, companion …

    Moby Thesaurus

  • 9crony — [17] Crony originated as a piece of Cambridge university slang. Originally written chrony, it was based on Greek khrónios ‘longlasting’, a derivative of khrónos ‘time’ (source of English chronicle, chronology, chronic, etc), and seems to have… …

    The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • 10crony — [17] Crony originated as a piece of Cambridge university slang. Originally written chrony, it was based on Greek khrónios ‘longlasting’, a derivative of khrónos ‘time’ (source of English chronicle, chronology, chronic, etc), and seems to have… …

    Word origins