Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Crotchet
Crotch′et
(kr?ch′?t; 224)
, Noun.
1.
A forked support; a crotch.
The
crotchets
of their cot in columns rise. Dryden.
2.
(Mus.)
A time note, with a stem, having one fourth the value of a semibreve, one half that of a minim, and twice that of a quaver; a quarter note.
3.
(Fort.)
An indentation in the glacis of the covered way, at a point where a traverse is placed.
4.
(Mil.)
The arrangement of a body of troops, either forward or rearward, so as to form a line nearly perpendicular to the general line of battle.
6.
(Med.)
An instrument of a hooked form, used in certain cases in the extraction of a fetus.
Dunglison.
7.
A perverse fancy; a whim which takes possession of the mind; a conceit.
He ruined himself and all that trusted in him by
crotchets
that he could never explain to any rational man. De Quincey.
Crotch′et
,Verb.
I.
To play music in measured time.
[Obs.]
Donne.
Webster 1828 Edition
Crotchet
CROTCHET
,Noun.
1.
In printing, a hook including words, a sentence or a passage distinguished form the rest, thus [ ].2.
In music, a note or character, equal in time to half a minim, and double of a quaver.3.
A piece of wood resembling a fork, used as a support in building.4.
A peculiar turn of the mind; a whim, or fancy; a perverse conceit.All the devices and crotchets of new inventions.