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Origin and history of croft

croft(n.)

"small piece of enclosed ground for agricultural purposes, a very small farm," especially of those on the western coast and isles of Scotland. Old English croft "enclosed field, small field," of unknown etymology. Germanic and Celtic sources have been proposed.

Crofter "tenant who holds a small field, one who occupies a croft," especially "small farmer on the western coast and islands of Scotland," is by 1762 (from late 13c. as a surname), originally Scottish.

Entries linking to croft

toft(n.)

"homestead, plot of land on which a house stands," especially if slightly elevated and exposed; late Old English, from Old Norse topt "homestead," from Proto-Germanic *tumfto (from PIE root *dem- "house, household"). Chiefly preserved in place-names. Often understood since Middle English to include an enclosed garden and sometimes including the buildings on the ground, hence legal use, where it often was paired with croft. Related: Toftstead.

undercroft(n.)

"crypt of a church; any underground vault or chamber," late 14c., from under + croft "small, enclosed patch of ground."

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    farm
    c. 1300, "fixed payment (usually in exchange for taxes collected, etc.), fixed rent," from Old French ferme "a rent, lease" (13c.), from Medieval Latin firma "fixed payment," from Latin firmare "to fix, settle, confirm, strengthen," from firmus "strong; stable," figuratively "con
    bosom
    Old English bosm "breast; womb; surface; ship's hold," from West Germanic *bōsmaz (source also of Old Frisian bosm, Old Saxon bosom, Middle Dutch boesem, Dutch boezem, Old High German buosam, German Busen "bosom, breast"), which is perhaps from PIE root *bhou- "to grow, swell," o
    suffer
    mid-13c., sufferen, "allow to occur or continue, refrain from hindering, fail to prevent or suppress," also "be made to undergo, endure, be subjected to" (pain, death, punishment, grief, injury, humiliation); from Anglo-French suffrir, Old French sofrir "bear, endure, resist; per
    cowboy
    1725, "boy who tends to cows and drives them to and from pasture," from cow (n.) + boy. American-English sense of "man employed to have care of grazing cattle on the Great Plains for a stockman or ranch, doing his work on horseback" is by 1849. Earlier it was an insulting name fo
    Christ
    "the Anointed," synonymous with and translating to Greek  Hebrew mashiah (see messiah), a title given to Jesus of Nazareth; Old English crist (by 830, perhaps 675), from Latin Christus, from Greek khristos "the anointed," noun use of verbal adjective of khriein "to rub, anoi
    shadow
    Middle English shadwe, from Old English sceadwe, sceaduwe "shade, the effect of interception of sunlight; dark image cast by someone or something when interposed between an object and a source of light," oblique cases ("to the," "from the," "of the," "in the") of sceadu (see shad
    style
    early 14c., stile, "writing instrument, pen, stylus; piece of written discourse, a narrative, treatise;" also "characteristic rhetorical mode of an author, manner or mode of expression," and "way of life, manner, behavior, conduct." This is from Old French stile, estile "style, f
    medicine
    c. 1200, "medical treatment, cure, healing," also (early 14c.) "substance used in treatment of a disease, medicinal potion or plaster," also used figuratively of spiritual remedies, from Old French medecine (Modern French médicine) "medicine, art of healing, cure, treatment, poti
    muster
    early 14c., moustren, "to display, reveal, to show or demonstrate" (senses now obsolete), also "to appear, be present," from Old French mostrer "appear, show, reveal," also in a military sense (10c., Modern French montrer), from Latin monstrare "to show," from monstrum "omen, sig
    bias
    1520s, "oblique or diagonal line," from French biais "a slant, a slope, an oblique," also figuratively, "an expedient, means" (13c., originally in Old French a past-participle adjective, "sideways, askance, against the grain"), a word of unknown origin. Probably it came to French

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