Crōne, n.

n. [A-S. crone, an old ewe; Ir. & Gael. crion, dry, withered, criona, old, crionach, dry wood, used as a term of contempt, from crionaim, to dry, to wither.]

1. An old ewe. [Obs.] Tusser.
2. An old woman;—usually in contempt; more rarely an aged man.

But still the crone was constant to her note: The more he spoke, the more she stretched her throat. Dryden. The old crone lived in a hovel, in the midst of a small patch of potatoes and Indian corn, which his master had given him. W. Irving.