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Bible Encyclopedias
Crotchet

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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(from the Fr. croche, a hook; whence also the Anglicized "crochet," pronounced as in French, for the knittingwork done with a hook instead of on pins), properly a small hook, and so used of the hook-like setae or bristles found in certain worms which burrow in sand. In music, a "crotchet" is a note of half the value of a minim and double that of a quaver; it is marked by a round black head and a line without a tail or hook; the French croche is used of a "quaver" which has a tail, but in ancient music the semiminima, the modern crotchet, is marked by an open note with a hook. Derived either from an old French proverbial phrase, it a des crochues en teste, or from a meaning of twist or turn, as in the similar expression "crank," comes the sense of a whim, fancy or perverse idea, seen also in the adjective "crotchety" of a fussy unreasonable person.

Bibliography Information
Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Crotchet'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​bri/​c/crotchet.html. 1910.
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