To crunch or make a crunching sound; to chew or masticate with an audible crushing noise.
From Middle English cranchen, possibly from Old Norse krankra or imitative origin. Related to crunch, with similar onomatopoetic qualities suggesting the sound of breaking/crushing.
The word 'cranch' is disappearing from English, replaced by 'crunch,' but it survives in regional British dialects—you might still hear an old farmer say they 'cranched' through gravel, preserving a sound-word from Middle English.
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