crotchet

n. [ F. crochet, prop., a little hook, a dim. from the same source as croc hook. See Crook, and cf. Crochet, Crocket, Crosier. ] 1. A forked support; a crotch. [ 1913 Webster ]

The crotchets of their cot in columns rise. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mus.) A time note, with a stem, having one fourth the value of a semibreve, one half that of a minim, and twice that of a quaver; a quarter note. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Fort.) An indentation in the glacis of the covered way, at a point where a traverse is placed. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Print.) A bracket. See Bracket. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Med.) An instrument of a hooked form, used in certain cases in the extraction of a fetus. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A perverse fancy; a whim which takes possession of the mind; a conceit. [ 1913 Webster ]

He ruined himself and all that trusted in him by crotchets that he could never explain to any rational man. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To play music in measured time. [ Obs. ] Donne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or character of being crotchety, or whimsical. [ 1913 Webster ]

This belief in rightness is a kind of conscientiousness, and when it degenerates it becomes crotchetiness. J. Grote. [ 1913 Webster ]