mid-15c., "broken by a sharp blow," past-participle adjective from crack (v.). From 1560s as "burst, split." Meaning "mentally unsound" is by 1690s. (compare crack-brain "crazy fellow"). The equivalent Greek word was used in this sense by Aristophanes.
crabbed
crabby
crabgrass
crack
crackdown
cracked
cracker
cracker-jack
crackhead
cracking
crackle