English word origin

Etymology of croup

From Middle English croupe, from Old French croupe (“rump, body”), from Old Norse kroppr (“body, trunk, mass”), from Proto-Germanic *kruppaz (“body, mass, heap, collection, crop”), from Proto-Indo-European *grewb- (“to c

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

The top of the rump of a horse or other quadruped.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentioncroupeenm
Derivation mentioncroupefro · rump, body
Derivation mentionkropprnon · body, trunk, mass
Derivation mention*kruppazgem-pro · body, mass, heap, collection, crop
Derivation mention*grewb-ine-pro · to curve, bend, crawl
Doublet mentioncroupeen
Doublet mentiongroupen
Doublet mentioncropen

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": "croupe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English croupe"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "croupe",
        "t": "rump, body"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French croupe (“rump, body”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "kroppr",
        "t": "body, trunk, mass"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse kroppr (“body, trunk, mass”)"
    },
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      "args": {
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        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kruppaz",
        "t": "body, mass, heap, collection, crop"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kruppaz (“body, mass, heap, collection, crop”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*grewb-",
        "t": "to curve, bend, crawl"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *grewb- (“to curve, bend, crawl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "croupe",
        "3": "group",
        "4": "crop",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "doublet of croupe, group, and crop"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "croupe",
      "croupe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "croupe",
      "croupe#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "kroppr",
      "kroppr#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*kruppaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kruppaz"
    ],
    [
      "*grewb-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/grewb-"
    ],
    [
      "crupper",
      "crupper#English"
    ],
    [
      "croupe",
      "croupe#English"
    ],
    [
      "group",
      "group#English"
    ],
    [
      "crop",
      "crop#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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        "The top of the rump of a horse or other quadruped."
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

An infectious illness of the larynx, especially in young children, causing respiratory difficulty.

verb

To croak, make a hoarse noise.

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

From Scots croup, croop (“the croup”), from Scots croup, crowp, croop (“to croak, speak hoarsely, murmur, complain”), from Old Scots crowp, crope, croap (“to call loudly, croak”), alteration of rowp, roup, roip, rope (“to cry, cry hoarsely, roop”), from Middle English roupen, ropen, from Old English hrōpan (“to shout, proclaim; cry out, scream, howl”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōpaną (“to shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *ker-, *kor- (“to caw, crow”). More at roop. In the medical sense introduced by Edinburgh physician Francis Home.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Borrowed-form mentioncroupsco
Derivation mentioncroupsco
Derivation mentionroupenenm
Derivation mentionhrōpanang · to shout, proclaim; cry out, scream, howl
Derivation mention*hrōpanągem-pro · to shout
Derivation mention*ker-ine-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sco",
        "3": "croup"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots croup"
    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sco",
        "3": "croup"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots croup"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "roupen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English roupen"
    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hrōpan",
        "t": "to shout, proclaim; cry out, scream, howl"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hrōpan (“to shout, proclaim; cry out, scream, howl”)"
    },
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        "2": "gem-pro",
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      },
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    },
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      "name": "der",
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ker-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *ker-"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
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    ],
    [
      "croop",
      "croop#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "croup",
      "croup#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "crowp",
      "crowp#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "croop",
      "croop#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "crowp",
      "crowp#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "crope",
      "crope#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "croap",
      "croap#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "rowp",
      "rowp#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "roup",
      "roup#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "roip",
      "roip#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "rope",
      "rope#Scots"
    ],
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      "roupen",
      "roupen#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "ropen",
      "ropen#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "hrōpan",
      "hropan#Old_English"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hrōpaną"
    ],
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      "*ker-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ker-"
    ],
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      "*kor-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kor-"
    ],
    [
      "roop",
      "roop#English"
    ]
  ],
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        "An infectious illness of the larynx, especially in young children, causing respiratory difficulty."
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 290913
    },
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      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To croak, make a hoarse noise."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "obsolete"
      ],
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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 croup →

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-Y3JvdXA