English word origin

Etymology of crick

From Middle English crike, crykke (“muscular spasm of the neck”), attested since the 1400s. Likely related to Old Norse kriki (“bend; nook”), whence also crick (“creek”) and creek.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 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

A painful stiffness in some part of the body, like the neck or back, which makes it difficult to move the affected body part for some time; a cramp. · A small jackscrew.

verb

To develop a crick (cramp, spasm). · To cause to develop a crick; to create a crick in. · To twist, bend, or contort, especially in a way that produces strain.

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

From Middle English crike, crykke (“muscular spasm of the neck”), attested since the 1400s. Likely related to Old Norse kriki (“bend; nook”), whence also crick (“creek”) and creek.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentioncrikeenm
Cognate mentionkrikinon

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "spasm-bending-jacking"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "crike",
        "4": "crike, crykke",
        "5": "muscular spasm of the neck"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English crike, crykke (“muscular spasm of the neck”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "kriki",
        "3": "",
        "4": "bend; nook"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse kriki (“bend; nook”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "crike, crykke",
      "crike#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "kriki",
      "kriki#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "creek",
      "creek#English"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
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      "glosses": [
        "A painful stiffness in some part of the body, like the neck or back, which makes it difficult to move the affected body part for some time; a cramp.",
        "A small jackscrew."
      ],
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    },
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      "glosses": [
        "To develop a crick (cramp, spasm).",
        "To cause to develop a crick; to create a crick in.",
        "To twist, bend, or contort, especially in a way that produces strain."
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Alternative form of creek.

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

See creek.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
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      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "creek-stream-rivulet"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "creek",
      "creek#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
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  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of creek."
      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

verb

To make a sharp, penetrating sound; chirp.

noun

The creaking of a door, or a noise resembling it.

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

Uncertain. Possibly an alteration of creak; or perhaps from Middle English crikken, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *krakōn, or Proto-West Germanic *krakkjan

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentioncrikkenenm
Inherited-form mention*krakōngmw-pro
Derivation mention*krakkjangmw-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "creak-squeak-noise"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "unc",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Uncertain"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "crikken"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English crikken"
    },
    {
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      },
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    },
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      },
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    }
  ],
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    [
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      "creak#English"
    ],
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      "crikken#Middle_English"
    ],
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    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/krakkjan"
    ]
  ],
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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 crick →

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-Y3JpY2s