Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

crony

/ˈkɹoʊni/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.73 in modern English

Syllables: crony
IPA: /ˈkɹoʊni/

10

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A close friend.

Informal

noun

A trusted companion or partner in a criminal organization.

Informal

noun

An old woman; a crone.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

"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."
"Marry not an old crony."

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.

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: χρόνιος

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈkɹoʊni/
British English: /ˈkɹəʊni/

Usage

Inflected Forms

cronies (plural) chrony (alternative)

Derived Forms

cronydom cronyish cronyism cronyist cronyistic cronynomics noncrony

Phrases

crony capitalism crony democracy Tony crony

Synonyms

babber billy bredrin bruv bud buddo buddy butty chaver china chuck chum

Antonyms

noncrony

Rhymes With

tony sony toni phony hermione stony bologna bony macaroni coney mahoney pepperoni

Questions

How do you pronounce crony?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɹoʊni/.
What does crony mean?: A close friend.
Where does crony come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce crony

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “crony”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkɹoʊni/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “crony”.
Repeat and practice — Say “crony” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.