Late Middle English: via Middle Dutch croonje, caroonje 'carcass, old ewe' from Old Northern French caroigne 'carrion, cantankerous woman' (see carrion).

• crockery from early 18th century:

  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 English Scots term for an old ewe, it came in the late 19th century to denote an old or broken-down horse. Crone (Late Middle English) has a related history coming from Middle Dutch croonje, ‘old ewe, carcass’ from Old Northern French caroigne meaning both ‘carrion’ and ‘cantankerous woman’. See also carnival