Maius Intra Qua Extra

"Crotchets" actually makes sense! In a comment below, flowsoffire says that the French term for quarter notes is "croches" because they look like hooks. So now it's obvious the English borrowed the word.

It's still dumb, but at least there's a reason. :D

Edit: Okay, I just reread flowsoffire's description, and the French call the eighth note the "croche", while the British call the quarter note the "crotchet". So we have returned to not making sense.