crochet
/ˈkroʊʃeɪ, -ʃət/
noun
Origin
French
crochet — “little hook”; by extension, a hook-like stitch
Overview
Meaning Now
- A fabric or lace made by looping yarn with a hooked needle.
- The craft or technique of making such fabric.
- A hooked stitch or a group of hooked stitches in that craft.
Literal older meaning
“little hook”
Language path
French → Middle French → English
Earliest form
crochet
Earliest period
17th century
Journey
The term entered English through French textile and domestic vocabulary. As crochet became a widespread craft, the word shifted from naming the hook-like stitch to naming the whole activity and the fabric made by it.
Evolution
- Old/medieval French
croc
“hook, claw”
Base noun for a hook-like object.
- Middle French
crochet
“small hook; hook-shaped object or stitch”
Diminutive formation in French.
- Early Modern English
crochet
“hooked stitch; later the craft itself”
Borrowed from French with the textile sense.
- Modern English
crochet
“the craft of making fabric with a hooked needle; the fabric itself”
Expanded to name both process and product.
Connections
Word parts
croch-
stem
hook, bend, hook-shaped
-et
suffix
diminutive
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Related to crochet
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.