The place where two things branch apart, especially where the legs meet the body, or where tree branches divide.
From Middle English, possibly from Old Norse 'krokr' meaning 'hook' or 'bend,' or related to 'crotchet,' a word for a bent or hooked shape. The word originally referred to any fork or branching point.
The word 'crotch' is neutral and scientific—it comes from the idea of something branching or forking like a hook. English speakers sometimes avoid it because it feels crude, but that's purely cultural; biologists use it matter-of-factly to describe any Y-shaped junction.
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