cranny
/ˈkɹæni/noun, verb
cranny is spelled C-R-A-N-N-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cranny means “A small, narrow opening, fissure, crevice, or chink, as in a wall, or other substance” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cranny is crannies.
How many letters and syllables are in cranny?
| Letters | 6: C-R-A-N-N-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,108th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is cranny?
Cranny appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cranny?
- /ˈkɹæni/
Cranny has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-cranny.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cranny
- crannies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- crannying participle, present
- crannied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cranny mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small, narrow opening, fissure, crevice, or chink, as in a wall, or other substance.
- 2
A tool for forming the necks of bottles, etc.
- 3
IndiaobsoleteA clerk writing English.
- 4
IndiaobsoleteA member of the East Indians, or mixed-race people, from among whom English copyists were chiefly recruited.
verb
- 1
To break into, or become full of, crannies.
The ground did cranie everie where and light did pierce to hell.
- 2
To haunt or enter by crannies.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cranny in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense small, narrow opening, fissure, crevice, or chink:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cranny come from?
From Middle English crany, crani (“cranny”), apparently a diminutive of *cran (+ -y), from Old French cran, cren (“notch, fissure”), a derivative of crener (“to notch, split”), from Medieval Latin crenō (“split”, verb), from Vulgar Latin *crinō (“split, break”, verb), of obscure origin; according to Watkins, of Gaulish origin, from Proto-Celtic *krīnos (“decayed, withered”). Despite a spurious use in Pliny, connection to Latin crēna (“notch, incision”) is doubtful. Instead, probably of Germanic or Celtic origin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).