crotchet

[kroch-it] /ˈkrɒtʃ ɪt/
noun
1.
an odd fancy or whimsical notion.
2.
a small hook.
3.
a hooklike device or part.
4.
Entomology. a small, hooklike process.
5.
Music. Chiefly British. a quarter note.
6.
a curved surgical instrument with a sharp hook.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English crochet hook, staff with hook at end < Middle French (see crochet); doublet of crocket
Synonyms
1. caprice, whimsy, eccentricity, quirk, oddity.
British Dictionary definitions for crotchet

crotchet

/ˈkrɒtʃɪt/
noun
1.
(music) a note having the time value of a quarter of a semibreve Usual US and Canadian name quarter note
2.
a small hook or hooklike device
3.
a perverse notion
4.
(zoology) a small notched or hooked process, as in an insect
Word Origin
C14: from Old French crochet, literally: little hook, from croche hook; see crocket
Word Origin and History for crotchet
n.

late 14c., "crocket," later "small hook" (early 15c.), from Old French crochet (pronounced "crotchet") "hook" (see crochet). As a surgical instrument, from 1750. Figurative use in musical notation is from mid-15c., from the shape of the notes. Meaning "whimsical fancy" is from 1570s; perhaps from the same mechanical image in crank; but other authorities link this sense to the musical notation one.