Part 679

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.

5. (Print.) A bracket. See Bracket.

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, v. i. To play music in measured time. [Obs.] Donne.

Crotch"et*ed, a. Marked or measured by crotchets; having musical notation. Harmar (1587).

Crotch"et*i*ness (kr?ch"?t-?-n?s), n. The state or character of being crotchety, or whimsical.

This belief in rightness is a kind of conscientiousness, and when it degenerates it becomes crotchetiness. J. Grote.

Crotch"et*y (kr?ch"?t-?), a. Given to crotchets; subject to whims; as, a crotchety man.

Cro"ton (kr?"t?n), n. [Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?;, prop., a tick, which the seed of the croton resembles.] (Bot.) A genus of euphorbiaceous plants belonging to tropical countries.

Croton oil (Med.), a viscid, acrid, brownish yellow oil obtained from the seeds of Croton Tiglium, a small tree of the East Indies. It is a most powerful drastic cathartic, and is used externally as a pustulant.

Cro"ton bug` (b?g`). [From the Croton water of New York.] (Zo÷l.) A small, active, winged species of cockroach (Ectobia Germanica), the water bug. It is common aboard ships, and in houses in cities, esp. in those with hot-water pipes.

Cro*ton"ic (kr?-t?n"?k), a. Of or pertaining to, or derived from, a plant of the genus Croton, or from croton oil.

Crotonic acid (Chem.), a white crystalline organic acid, C3H5.CO2H, of the ethylene, or acrylic acid series. It was so named because formerly supposed to exist in croton oil. Also, any acid metameric with crotonic acid proper.

&fist; The acid characteristic of croton oil is tiglic or tiglinic acid, a derivative of crotonic acid.

Cro"ton*ine (kr?"t?n-?n), n. (Chem.) A supposed alkaloid obtained from croton oil by boiling it with water and magnesia, since found to be merely a magnesia soap of the oil. Watts.

Cro*ton"y*lene (kr?-t?n"?-l?n), n. [Crotonic + acet-ylene.] (Chem.) A colorless, volatile, pungent liquid, C4H6, produced artificially, and regarded as an unsaturated hydrocarbon of the acetylene series, and analogous to crotonic acid.

Crot"tles (kr?t"t'lz), n. pl. [Gael. crotal.] A name given to various lichens gathered for dyeing. [Scot.]

Crouch (krouch; 129), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Crouched (kroucht); p. pr. & vb. n. Crouching.] [OE. cruchen, crouchen, crouken; cf. E. creep, G. krauchen, kriechen, or E. crook to bend, also crouch to cross.] 1. To bend down; to stoop low; to lie close to the ground with the logs bent, as an animal when waiting for prey, or in fear.

Now crouch like a cur. Beau. & Fl.

2. To bend servilely; to stoop meanly; to fawn; to cringe. "A crouching purpose." Wordsworth.

Must I stand and crouch Under your testy humor? Shak.

Crouch, v. t. [OE. cruchen, crouchen, from cruche, crouche, cross. Cf. Crosier, Crook.] 1. To sign with the cross; to bless. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. To bend, or cause to bend, as in humility or fear.

She folded her arms across her chest, And crouched her head upon her breast. Colerige.

Crouched (kroucht), a. Marked with the sign of the cross. [Obs.]