{"id":2926,"date":"2023-08-25T19:46:42","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T19:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=2926"},"modified":"2023-08-25T19:46:42","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T19:46:42","slug":"adventures-in-etymology-crotchet-%e2%99%a9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=2926","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Etymology &#8211; Crotchet (\u2669)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Crotchet (\u2669)\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2023-08-25T19:46:42+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT1M43S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this adventure we investigate the origins of the word crotchet and related things.\n\n\n\nA crotchet [\u02c8k\u0279\u0252t\u0283.\u026at] is:\n\n \tA musical note one beat long in 4\/4 time (\u2669), also known as a quarter note in the USA\n \tA forked support or crotch\n \tA square brack...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"1.9\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_7856\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-2926-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=2926-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"crotchet.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this adventure we investigate the origins of the word <strong>crotchet<\/strong> and related things.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/videos\/crotchet.jpg\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" alt=\"Crotchet\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>crotchet<\/strong> [\u02c8k\u0279\u0252t\u0283.\u026at] is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A musical note one beat long in 4\/4 time (\u2669), also known as a quarter note in the USA<\/li>\n<li>A forked support or crotch<\/li>\n<li>A square bracket []<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Historically it meant:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A sharp curve or crook; a shape resembling a hook<\/li>\n<li>A hook-shaped instrument<\/li>\n<li>A whim or a fancy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It comes from Middle English <strong>crochet<\/strong> (hook, crook, hooked staff), from Old French <em>crochet<\/em> (small hook) from <em>croc<\/em> (hook, hook-shaped weapon), from Frankish <em>*kr\u014dk-<\/em> (hook), or Old Norse <em>kr\u00f3kr<\/em> (hook), from Proto-Germanic <em>*kr\u014dkaz<\/em> (hook) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/crotchet#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words from the same roots include <strong>crochet<\/strong> and <strong>crook<\/strong> in English, <strong>cr\u00faca<\/strong> (hook, crook, clutch, claw) in Irish, and <strong>crochet<\/strong> (hook, square bracket, fang) and <strong>croche<\/strong> (quaver \/ eighth note) in French [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic\/kr%C5%8Dkaz\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>The musical note was apparently called a <strong>crotchet<\/strong> because it had a small hook on its stem in old musical notation. In modern notation it\u2019s the quaver (eighth note) that has the hook (a.k.a. tail) \u266a.<\/p>\n<p>Incidentally, <strong>quaver<\/strong> comes from Middle English <em>quaven, cwaiven<\/em> (to tremble), from Old English <em>*cwifer<\/em>, which is probably related to <em>cwic<\/em> (alive, living, intelligent, keen) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/quaver#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s an example of some crotchets, quavers and other musical notes in action in a tune I wrote a few years ago called Dancing on Custard played by me on the harp:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/342540111&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/simon-ager\" title=\"Simon Ager\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">Simon Ager<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/simon-ager\/dancing-on-custard-dawnsio-ar-gwstard\" title=\"Dancing on Custard \/ Dawnsio ar Gwstard\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">Dancing on Custard \/ Dawnsio ar Gwstard<\/a><\/div>\n<p>You can find a score for it on <a href=\"https:\/\/musescore.com\/user\/16918231\/scores\/9495853\">MuseScore<\/a> &#8211; this is not exactly the same as the recording.<\/p>\n<p>I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/\">Omniglot Blog<\/a>, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/\">Celtiadur<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on: <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/id1432641094\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/8b1b1d1b-b39e-4277-b28d-479a3b5043b3\/radio-omniglot\">Amazon Music<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\">Stitcher<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tunein.com\/podcasts\/Education-Podcasts\/Radio-Omniglot-p1154145\/\">TuneIn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.podchaser.com\/podcasts\/radio-omniglot-716327\">Podchaser<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/player.fm\/series\/radio-omniglot\">PlayerFM<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/podtail.com\/da\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/\">podtail<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/uk\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd=_flow&amp;SESSION=aLjPfXL-vP_1gQ_U23Iz8_hSWLlhzLHPMFZrt32dIEfG8htoNFLYaPoWkv8&amp;dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8def8934b92a630e40b7fef61ab7e9fe63\">PayPal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/omniglot\">Patreon<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/donations.htm\">contribute to Omniglot in other ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with <a href=\"https:\/\/blubrry.com\/services\/podcast-hosting\/?code=omniglot\">Blubrry Podcast Hosting<\/a>, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code <strong>omniglot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Crotchet (\u2669)\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2023-08-25T19:46:42+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT1M43S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this adventure we investigate the origins of the word crotchet and related things.\n\n\n\nA crotchet [\u02c8k\u0279\u0252t\u0283.\u026at] is:\n\n \tA musical note one beat long in 4\/4 time (\u2669), also known as a quarter note in the USA\n \tA forked support or crotch\n \tA square brack...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"1.9\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_7857\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-2926-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=2926-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/crotchet.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"crotchet.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this adventure we investigate the origins of the word crotchet and related things. A crotchet [\u02c8k\u0279\u0252t\u0283.\u026at] is: A musical note one beat long in 4\/4 time (\u2669), also known as a quarter note in the USA A forked support or crotch A square bracket [] Historically it meant: A sharp curve or crook; a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,20,56,110,23,6,4,58,109,64,1,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures-in-etymology","category-english","category-etymology","category-frankish-frenkisk","category-french","category-irish","category-language","category-middle-english","category-old-french-franceis","category-old-norse-dnsk-tunga","category-podcast","category-proto-germanic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2926"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2936,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2926\/revisions\/2936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}