Pronunciation
Etymology
[ 'krach ] (noun.) 13th century. From Middle English cratchen, cracchen (“to scratch”), alteration of *cratsen (“to scratch”), from North Germanic *kratsa or Middle Low German kratsen, krassen (“to scratch”), both ultimately from Old High German krazzōn, crazōn (“to scratch”), from Proto-Germanic *krattōjanan (“to scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gred-, *grod- (“to scratch, scrape”). Cognate with Icelandic krota (“to engrave”). Compare also Icelandic krassa (“to scrawl”), Danish kradse (“to scratch, scrape, claw”), Swedish kratsa (“to scratch”), Dutch kratsen (“to scratch”), German kratzen (“to scratch”).