crotch

English

A coati sitting in a crotch of a tree.

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English crotche, croche (also in unassilibated form croke, "a shepherd's crook"), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French croche (“shepherd's crook”); merged with (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English cruche, crucche (“a crutch”). More at crook, crutch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɹɑtʃ/
• IPA^(key): /kɹɒtʃ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒtʃ

Noun

crotch (plural crotches)

1. The area where something forks or branches, a ramification takes place.

   There is a child sitting in a crotch of that tree.

2. The ventral area (very bottom) of the human body between where the legs fork from the torso, in the area of the genitals and anus.

   Every mile they rode their crotches felt worse saddlepain.

3. (slang, euphemistic) Either the male or female genitalia.

   He cringed at being kicked in the crotch.

4. (billiards) In the three-ball carom game, a small space at each corner of the table.
5. (typography) The open counter (negative space) formed by two downward strokes that meet at an internal acute angle, potentially above a vertex, as in the letters "V" and "Y".

Derived terms

• crotch area
• crotch seam
• split crotch
• finger crotch

Translations

area where something forks

• Bulgarian: чатал m (čatal)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 岔 (zh) (chà), 丫叉 (zh) (yāchà), 分叉 (zh) (fēnchā)

• Danish: forgrening c, vejgaffel c (fork in a road)
• Dutch: aftakking (nl) f, vork (nl)
• Esperanto: akselo (eo)
• Finnish: haara (fi)
• French: fourche (fr) f
• Galician: galla f, galladura f, forcadura f, cibamento m
• German: Gabelung (de) f, Verzweigung (de) f, Astgabel f
• Greek: διχάλα (el) f (dichála)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: biforcazione (it) f, diramazione (it) f
• Japanese: 叉 (ja) (また, mata)
• Latin: bifurcum n
• Norwegian: forgrening m or f
• Polish: rozwidlenie (pl) n, rozstaj m
• Portuguese: forquilha (pt) f, bifurcação (pt) f, ramificação (pt), Y (pt) m
• Russian: разви́лка (ru) f (razvílka), разветвле́ние (ru) n (razvetvlénije), ви́лка (ru) f (vílka), разви́лина (ru) f (razvílina)
• Scottish Gaelic: gobhal m
• Spanish: horqueta (es) (tree)
• Swedish: klyka (sv) c, förgrening (sv)

area of a person’s body

• Bulgarian: чатал m (čatal)
• Catalan: engonal m, entrecuix m
• Classical Nahuatl: maxactli
• Danish: skridt n
• Dutch: kruis (nl) n
• Esperanto: seksorgano
• Finnish: haaraväli
• French: entrejambe (fr) m
• Galician: ventrecha (gl) f
• German: Schritt (de) m, Leistengegend (de) f, Zwickel (de) m
• Greek: καβάλος (el) m (kaválos)
• Hebrew: מפשעה (he) (mifsaá)
• Icelandic: klof n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Indonesian: kelangkang (id)
• Italian: cavallo (it) m
• Japanese: 股 (ja) (また, mata), 俣 (ja) (また, mata)
• Malay: kelangkang
• Maori: tapa o te kūhā, tapatapa
• Norwegian: skritt (no) n, skrev (no) n
• Polish: krocze (pl) n
• Portuguese: virilha (pt) f, entreperna f
• Russian: проме́жность (ru) f (proméžnostʹ), пах (ru) m (pax)
• Scottish Gaelic: gobhal m
• Spanish: entrepierna (es) f
• Swedish: skrev (sv) c, gren (sv) c
• Westrobothnian: ,

Verb

crotch (third-person singular simple present crotch, present participle es, simple past and past participle crotched)

1. (transitive) To provide with a crotch; to give the form of a crotch to.

   to crotch the ends of ropes in splicing or tying knots

2. (transitive, logging, historical, Western US) To notch (a log) on opposite sides to provide a grip for the dogs that will haul it.