crony en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈkɹəʊni/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈkɹoʊni/ (General-American)
Etymology
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.
Meanings
-
(informal) 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.
1819 June 23, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Rip Van Winkle”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number I, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 91:
- (informal) A trusted companion or partner in a criminal organization.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| cronies | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| chrony | alternative | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
crony capitalism · cronyistic · cronyist · cronyish · cronydom · noncrony · cronyism · Tony crony · crony democracy · cronynomics
Synonyms
peeps · bredrin · friend · chum · surry · cove · good old boy · bruv · china · bud · dawg · buddy · billy · pal · homie · cobber · marrow · chaver · tovarish · mate · fam · comrade · crony · sport · dude · duck · cock · wantok · shag · lover · babber · cocker · chuck · buddo · pardner · punk · homeskillet · mucker · fettler · gink · kith · geez · geezer · compadre · matey · old bean · butty · companion
Translations (39)
nb kumpan (close friend) · de Kumpan (close friend) · nn kumpan (close friend) · ro prieten la cataramă (close friend) · es compinche (close friend) · cs kámoš (close friend) · nn kompanjong (close friend) · es amigote (partner in crime) · eo kunulo (close friend) · id kroni (close friend) · sv funtfadder (close friend) · ru ко́реш (close friend) · fr copain (close friend) · nb kompanjong (close friend) · es compinche (partner in crime) · fr copine (close friend) · sv stallbroder (close friend) · es amigacho (close friend) · de Freund (close friend) · cmn 挚友 (close friend) · ko 옛벗 (close friend) · pt parceiro (close friend) · hu haver (close friend) · sv kumpan (close friend) · km សន្ធានមិត្ត (close friend) · cmn 裙带 (close friend) · es amigacho (partner in crime) · bg близък приятел (close friend) · et semu (close friend) · cs kumpán (close friend) · es amigote (close friend) · km កល្យាណមិត្ត (close friend) · eu adixkide (close friend) · cs kumpán (partner in crime) · sv vän (close friend) · eu lagun xahar (close friend) · id kroni (partner in crime) · fi kaveri (close friend) · ms kuncu (close friend)
wikipedia: The New York Times · wikipedia: William Safire · wikipedia: Samuel Pepys · wikipedia: Cambridge University