croft

Meanings

Noun

• An enclosed piece of land, usually small and arable and used for small-scale food production, and often with a dwelling next to it; in particular, such a piece of land rented to a farmer (a crofter), especially in Scotland, together with a right to use separate pastureland shared by other crofters.
• An underground chamber; a crypt, an undercroft.
• A cave or cavern.
• A carafe.

Verb

• To do agricultural work on one or more crofts.
• To place (cloth, etc.) on the ground in the open air in order to sun and bleach it.

Origin

• The noun is derived from Middle English croft, crofft, croffte, croofte, crofte, from Old English croft; further etymology Unknown, but possibly from Proto-Germanic *kruftaz, from Proto-Indo-European *grewb-; see also crop. The English word is cognate with Middle Dutch kroft, krocht, crocht, Middle Low German kroch, Scots croft, craft.
• The verb is derived from the noun.
• From Middle English croft, crofte, croufte, crufte, from Old English cruft, from Latin crupta, crypta, from Ancient Greek κρυπτή, feminine form of κρῠπτός, from κρύπτω (further etymology unknown) + -ος. The English word is cognate with Middle Dutch croft, crocht, crochte, crogt, cruft, crufte (modern Dutch krocht), Middle Low German krucht, kruft, Old High German cruft (Middle High German kruft). grotto, and crypt.
• A variant of carafe.