Etymology
The word "crony" first appeared in 18th century London, according to the Oxford English Dictionary to be derived from the Greek word χρόνιος (chronios), meaning "long-term".
The word crony also appears in the 1811 edition of Grose's Vulgar Tongue with a decidedly non-collegiate definition, placing it firmly in the cant of the underworld. Another oft-quoted source is the supposed Irish term Comh-Roghna, said to translate as "close pals", or mutual friends. However, this term apparently originated with Daniel Cassidy (fabricator of many fake Irish terms) and is completely unknown in the Irish language. (See Ó Dónaill's Irish-English Dictionary p. 288, where the term is conspicuously absent). It also makes no sense in terms of the morphology of the word rogha - if the word existed, the plural would be comhroghanna, not comh-roghna.
Read more about this topic: Cronyism
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