*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of crib

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- Proto-Indo-European *grebʰ-der. Proto-Indo-European *grébʰ-ōn ~ *grbʰ-n-ōs Proto-Germanic *krebô Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ Proto-West Germanic *kribbjā Old English cribb Middle Eng

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In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A baby’s bed with high, often slatted, often moveable sides, suitable for a child who has outgrown a cradle or bassinet. · A bed for a child older than a baby. · A small sleeping berth in a packet or other small vessel. · A wicker basket.

verb

To place or confine in a crib. · To shut up or confine in a narrow habitation; to cage; to cramp. · To collect one or more passages and/or references for use in a speech, written document or as an aid for some task; to create a crib sheet. · To plagiarize; to copy; to cheat.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- Proto-Indo-European *grebʰ-der. Proto-Indo-European *grébʰ-ōn ~ *grbʰ-n-ōs Proto-Germanic *krebô Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ Proto-West Germanic *kribbjā Old English cribb Middle English crib English crib From Middle English crib, cribbe, from Old English crib, cryb, cribb, crybb (“couch, bed; manger, stall”), from Proto-West Germanic *kribbjā, from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ (“crib, wickerwork”), from Proto-Indo-European *grebʰ-, *gerbʰ- (“bunch, bundle, tuft, clump”), from *ger- (“to turn, twist”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Kräbbe, Krääb, Krääf (“crib”), West Frisian krêbe (“crib”), Dutch krib (“crib, manger”), German Krippe (“rack, crib”), Danish krybbe (“crib”), Icelandic krubba (“crib”). Doublet of crèche. The sense of ‘stealing, taking notes, plagiarize’ seems to have developed out of the verb. The criminal sense may derive from the 'basket' sense, circa the mid 18th century, in that a poacher could conceal poachings in such a basket (see the 1772 Samuel Foote quotation). The cheating sense probably derives from the criminal sense.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 26 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": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:crib<ety:inh<ang:cribb<id:manger>>>",
        "id": "bed",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-\nProto-Indo-European *grebʰ-der.\nProto-Indo-European *grébʰ-ōn ~ *grbʰ-n-ōs\nProto-Germanic *krebô\nProto-Germanic *kribjǭ\nProto-West Germanic *kribbjā\nOld English cribb\nMiddle English crib\nEnglish crib\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"to carve\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*gerbʰ-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*grebʰ-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*krebô\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*kribjǭ\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*kribbjā\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"cribb\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"crib\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"crib\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"bed\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"crib\" id=\"English:_bed\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "crib"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English crib"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "crib"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English crib"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kribbjā"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kribbjā"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kribjǭ",
        "t": "crib, wickerwork"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ (“crib, wickerwork”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*grebʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *grebʰ-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Kräbbe"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Kräbbe"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "krêbe",
        "3": "",
        "4": "crib"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian krêbe (“crib”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "krib",
        "3": "",
        "4": "crib, manger"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch krib (“crib, manger”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Krippe",
        "3": "",
        "4": "rack, crib"
      },
      "expansion": "German Krippe (“rack, crib”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "krybbe",
        "3": "",
        "4": "crib"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish krybbe (“crib”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "krubba",
        "3": "",
        "4": "crib"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic krubba (“crib”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "crèche"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of crèche"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:crib<ety:inh<ang:cribb<id:manger>>>",
        "id": "bed",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-\nProto-Indo-European *grebʰ-der.\nProto-Indo-European *grébʰ-ōn ~ *grbʰ-n-ōs\nProto-Germanic *krebô\nProto-Germanic *kribjǭ\nProto-West Germanic *kribbjā\nOld English cribb\nMiddle English crib\nEnglish crib"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*gerbʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gerbʰ-#Proto-Indo-European:_to_carve"
    ],
    [
      "*grebʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/grebʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*krebô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/krebô#Proto-Germanic:_basket"
    ],
    [
      "*kribjǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kribjǭ#Proto-Germanic:_crib"
    ],
    [
      "*kribbjā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kribbjā"
    ],
    [
      "cribb",
      "cribb#Old_English:_manger"
    ],
    [
      "crib",
      "crib#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "crib",
      "crib#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "cribbe",
      "cribbe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "crib",
      "crib#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "cryb",
      "cryb#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "cribb",
      "cribb#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "crybb",
      "crybb#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*kribbjā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kribbjā"
    ],
    [
      "*kribjǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kribjǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*grebʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/grebʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*gerbʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gerbʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*ger-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ger-"
    ],
    [
      "Kräbbe",
      "Kräbbe#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Krääb",
      "Krääb#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Krääf",
      "Krääf#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "krêbe",
      "krêbe#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "krib",
      "krib#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Krippe",
      "Krippe#German"
    ],
    [
      "krybbe",
      "krybbe#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "krubba",
      "krubba#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "crèche",
      "crèche#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A baby’s bed with high, often slatted, often moveable sides, suitable for a child who has outgrown a cradle or bassinet.",
        "A bed for a child older than a baby.",
        "A small sleeping berth in a packet or other small vessel.",
        "A wicker basket."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "countable",
        "uncountable",
        "UK"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 303227
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To place or confine in a crib.",
        "To shut up or confine in a narrow habitation; to cage; to cramp.",
        "To collect one or more passages and/or references for use in a speech, written document or as an aid for some task; to create a crib sheet.",
        "To plagiarize; to copy; to cheat."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "informal"
      ],
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      "rawRecordSha256": "8a6c02726b189ad4451e530f2595341267f2afec264a07c496bc391381ea750c",
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    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 26,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 crib →

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-Y3JpYg