Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CROTCH'ET, n. [Fr. crochet, croche, from croc. See Crook.]

1. In printing, a book including words, a sentence or a passage distinguished from the rest, thus [ ].
2. In music, a note or character, equal in time to half a minim, and the double of a quaver, thus c.
3. A piece of wood resembling a fork, used as a support in building.
4. A peculiar turn of the mind; a whim, or fancy; a perverse conceit. All the devices and crotchets of new inventions. – Howell.