*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of crank

From Dutch or Low German krank, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *krank, from Proto-Germanic *krangaz, *krankaz (“bent; weak”). Cognate with Scots crank, krank, German krank (“sick”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

An ailment, ache. · An ill-tempered or nasty person. · A twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim. · A fit of temper or passion.

adj

Hard; difficult. · Strange; weird; odd. · Bent; twisted; crooked; distorted; out of repair. · Sick; unwell.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Dutch or Low German krank, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *krank, from Proto-Germanic *krangaz, *krankaz (“bent; weak”). Cognate with Scots crank, krank, German krank (“sick”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionkranknds
  • Derivation mention*krankgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*krangazgem-pro
  • Cognate mentioncranksco
  • Cognate mentionkrankde · sick

This page abbreviates 6 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nds",
        "3": "krank"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German krank"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*krank"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *krank"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*krangaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *krangaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "crank"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots crank"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "krank",
        "t": "sick"
      },
      "expansion": "German krank (“sick”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "krank",
      "krank#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "*krank",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/krank"
    ],
    [
      "*krangaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/krangaz"
    ],
    [
      "*krankaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/krankaz"
    ],
    [
      "crank",
      "crank#Scots"
    ],
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      "krank",
      "krank#Scots"
    ],
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      "krank",
      "krank#German"
    ]
  ],
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  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An ailment, ache.",
        "An ill-tempered or nasty person.",
        "A twist or turn of the mind; caprice; whim.",
        "A fit of temper or passion."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "informal"
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        "Sick; unwell."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A bent piece of an axle or shaft, or an attached arm perpendicular, or nearly so, to the end of a shaft or wheel, used to impart a rotation to a wheel or other mechanical device; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. · Clipping of crankshaft. · The act of converting power into motion, by turning a crankshaft. · Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage.

verb

To turn by means of a crank. · To turn a crank. · To turn. · To cause to spin via other means, as though turned by a crank.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English crank, cronk, from a shortening of Old English crancstæf (“weaving tool, crank”, literally “bent or crooked staff”), the first element ultimately related to Etymology 1 above.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentioncrankenm
  • Derivation mentioncrancstæfang · weaving tool, crank

This page abbreviates 6 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "crank"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English crank"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "crancstæf",
        "t": "weaving tool, crank",
        "lit": "bent or crooked staff"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English crancstæf (“weaving tool, crank”, literally “bent or crooked staff”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "crank",
      "crank#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "cronk#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "crancstæf#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A bent piece of an axle or shaft, or an attached arm perpendicular, or nearly so, to the end of a shaft or wheel, used to impart a rotation to a wheel or other mechanical device; also used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion.",
        "Clipping of crankshaft.",
        "The act of converting power into motion, by turning a crankshaft.",
        "Any bend, turn, or winding, as of a passage."
      ],
      "tags": [
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    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To turn by means of a crank.",
        "To turn a crank.",
        "To turn.",
        "To cause to spin via other means, as though turned by a crank."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "intransitive"
      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for crank →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Y3Jhbms