croft

C3R1O1F4T1
UK, UK/kɹɒft/Canada, US, US/kɹɔft/Canada, US, cot caught merger/kɹɑft/

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.

Similar
quillet
OriginMiddle English croft ← Old English croft ← Proto-Germanic *kruftaz →
Less commonScrabble 10
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

croft1

nouncroft (plural crofts)

plural crofts

  1. 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.

    Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft / The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft; / And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

    1819 September 19, John Keats, “To Autumn”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, →OCLC, stanza 3, page 139
    1 more example

    ...to haue set and for malis and service...the four markland of Kincrakin...with the croft of Polgreyich and the croft that Ewin M'Ewin was wount to haue...

    1530: Sir John Campbell of Glenurchy (in a lease to his "weil belouit" servant John M'Conoquhy V'Gregour)

    Synonyms: quillet

verbcroft (third-person singular simple present crofts, present participle crofting, simple past and past participle crofted)

present singular third person crofts · participle present crofting · participle past crofted · past crofted

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

croft2

nouncroft (plural crofts)

plural crofts

  1. archaicAn underground chamber; a crypt, an undercroft.
  2. archaicA cave or cavern.

croft3

nouncroft (plural crofts)

plural crofts

  1. archaicA carafe.

Croft4

proper noun
  1. A surname from Middle English, from the common noun croft, and from places named Croft.
  2. A place in England:
    1. A village and civil parish in Warrington borough, Cheshire (OS grid ref SJ6393).
    2. A small village in Croft and Yarpole parish, Herefordshire (OS grid ref SO4565).
    3. A village and civil parish in Blaby district, Leicestershire (OS grid ref SP5195).
    4. A village and civil parish in East Lindsey district, Lincolnshire (OS grid ref TF5061).
  3. An unincorporated community in Pratt County, Kansas, United States.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn 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.

Similar
quillet
Also see
quillet

Origin

croft · noun, verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*grewb-“to bend; arch, crook, curve”
  2. Proto-Germanic*kruftaz“a hill; a curve”
  3. Old Englishcroft“enclosed field”
  4. Middle Englishcroft
  5. Englishcroft

The noun is derived from Middle English croft, crofft, croffte, croofte, crofte (“croft”), from Old English croft (“enclosed field”); further etymology uncertain, but possibly from Proto-Germanic *kruftaz (“a hill; a curve”), from Proto-Indo-European *grewb- (“to bend; arch, crook, curve”); see also crop. The English word is cognate with Middle Dutch kroft, krocht, crocht (“high and dry land; a field on the downs”), Middle Low German kroch (“enclosed piece of farmland or pasture”), Scots croft, craft (“croft”). The verb is derived from the noun.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

croft · noun

  1. Ancient Greekκρυπτή
  2. Latincrupta
  3. Old Englishcruft
  4. Middle Englishcroft
  5. Englishcroft

From Middle English croft, crofte, croufte, crufte (“crypt; vault”), from Old English cruft, from Latin crupta, crypta (“crypt; vault”), from Ancient Greek κρυπτή (kruptḗ), feminine form of κρῠπτός (krŭptós, “concealed, hidden; secret”), from κρύπτω (krúptō, “to conceal, hide; to obscure”) (further etymology unknown) + -ος (-os). The English word is cognate with Middle Dutch croft, crocht, crochte, crogt, cruft, crufte (modern Dutch krocht (“underground cavity, cave; underground vault, crypt”)), Middle Low German krucht, kruft (“crypt”), Old High German cruft (Middle High German kruft (“cave; crypt”)). Doublet of grotto and crypt.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

croft · noun

A variant of carafe.

Full word history & related roots →

Croft · proper noun

  1. Old Englishcræft“device”
  2. EnglishCroft

* As an English surname, from the noun croft (“small piece of land”). * Also as an English surname, variant of Craft. * As a Danish, Swedish, German and Jewish surname, Americanized from Kraft. * The place in Leicestershire is from Old English cræft (“device”). Also compare Kroft.

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian заградено поле
  • заградено полеenclosed piece of land
Czech záhumenek, políčko
  • záhumenekenclosed piece of land
  • políčkoenclosed piece of land
Finnish haka, torppa
  • hakaenclosed piece of land
  • torppaenclosed piece of land
  • mäkitupaenclosed piece of land
Icelandic hjáleigubóndi, smábóndi
  • hjáleigubóndienclosed piece of land
  • smábóndienclosed piece of land
Irish crochta, croit
  • crochtaenclosed piece of land
  • croitenclosed piece of land
Italian podere, campicello
  • podereenclosed piece of land
  • campicelloenclosed piece of land
  • campettoenclosed piece of land
Norwegian Bokmål tuft
  • tuftenclosed piece of land
Scottish Gaelic croit
  • croitenclosed piece of land
Spanish coto
  • cotoenclosed piece of land
Swedish torp
  • torpenclosed piece of land
Welsh tyddyn, crofft
  • tyddynenclosed piece of land
  • crofftenclosed piece of land

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with croft

softloftoftalofttoftwaftstroft
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

croft. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/croft

MLA

“croft.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/croft. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “croft,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/croft.

Source: croft on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.