Crick
/krɪk/noun
A painful stiffness or spasm in the neck or back; also a dialectal form of “creek” meaning a small stream.
Did you know?The word has two major senses—painful stiffness and a small stream—and both are connected in historical usage with ideas of bending, winding, or crookedness, though their exact development is debated.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
Germanic
*kruk- / *krīk-
“A reconstructed family of forms associated with bending, crookedness, or a hooked shape; the precise relationship is debated.”
Old English
Old English
crycce
“A staff or crutch, literally something bent or used for support; probably related to the same Germanic bending-word family.”
Middle English
Middle English
crik / crike
“Forms referring to a bend, nook, or small watercourse, developing alongside the ancestry of modern “creek.””
16th Century
English
crick
“A painful stiffness or sudden spasm, especially in the neck; the origin of this sense is uncertain but may involve the idea of a kink or twist.”
Modern English
English
crick
“A stiff, painful muscle condition—usually “a crick in the neck”—and, regionally, a small creek or stream.”