Obs. Also 5–6 crotche, crowche, 6 cruche. [Etymologically the same as croce, CROSE; croche being the Old Northern French equivalent of Central OF. croce. The form crowche is perh. a phonetic development (cf. poche, pouch); in cruche there may be a blending with CRUTCH.]
1. A pastoral staff, crook, crosier.
14[?]. Nominale, in Wr.-Wülcker, 721/38. (Nom. Rer. Ecclesiast.), Hoc pedum, a crowche.
c. 1450. St. Cuthbert, 6249. A biscop … with his croche.
1483. Caxton, Gold. Leg., 123/1. Thenne saynt basille … cam to the chyrche and knocked a stroke wyth hys croche.
1490–9. Promp. Parv., 104 (H., P.). Croke or schoke [H. c. 1490, P. 1499 crotche, 1516 croche], pedum, cambuca.
1536. Inv. Whalley Abbey (Trans. Hist. Soc. Lanc. N.S. VII. 107). j crowche of silver and gilt with a staff of silver.
1539. Inv., in Burton, Mon. Ebor., 144. One cruche-head gilt … the staff of the Cruche, gilt.
1563. Bp. Pilkington, Burn. Pauls (Parker Soc.), 584. They have not the cruche and mitre as the old bishops had.
2. A stick having a head to lean on; a lame man’s staff, a crutch. Cf. CROSE 2.
In this sense not easily separated from CRUTCH, q.v.
14[?]. Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 810/25. Hoc sustentaculum, hoc podium, a croche.
c. 1500. Merchant & Son, in Halliwell, Nugæ Poeticæ, 32. An olde man, wyth crochys twayne.
¶ See also CROTCH.
