cranky

 
Pronunciation: /ˈkraŋki/

adjective (crankier, crankiest)

  • 1British informal eccentric or strange: a cranky scheme to pipe ground-level ozone into the stratosphere
  • 2chiefly North American bad-tempered; irritable: he was cranky after eight hours of working
  • 3(of a machine) working erratically: after a juddering landing the cranky plane eased up the runway

Derivatives

crankily

adverb

crankiness

noun

Origin:

late 18th century (in the sense 'sickly, in poor health'): perhaps from obsolete (counterfeit) crank 'a rogue feigning sickness', from Dutch or German krank 'sick'