Link Centre Dictionary

crony

UK/ˈkɹəʊni/ US/ˈkɹoʊni/ uncommon informal obsolete

noun

1.

a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities

Synonyms

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • crony capitalism
  • crony democracy
  • Tony crony

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.