Meaning

noun a large number of things or people considered together

noun an informal body of friends

verb cause to herd, drive, or crowd together

originFrom Middle English crouden, from Old English crūdan, from Proto-West Germanic *krūdan, from Proto-Germanic *krūdaną, *kreudaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *grewt- (“to push; press”). Cognate with German Low German kroden (“to push, shove”), Dutch kruien (“to push, shove”). (group of people, mob): Compare typologically throng (<<~ Proto-Germanic *þrinhwaną); Czech dav (akin to Russian…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0