crockery [E18th] Crockery is from obsolete crocker ‘potter’, from crock, spelt in Old English croc, crocca ‘earthenware pot’. The crock in the expression old crock is a different word, perhaps of Flemish origin. Originally a late Middle Scots term for an old ewe, it came in the late 19th century to denote an old or broken-down horse. It may be related to *crack. Crone [LME] has a related history coming from Middle Dutch croonje, ‘old ewe, carcass’ from Old Northern French caroigne meaning both ‘carrion’ and ‘cantankerous woman’.