Literal translation
to have fear
Meaning
to feel shy or ashamed
Explanation
To feel shy or ashamed. The Provençal word crento, close in form to the French word for fear, transferred its meaning onto that word once it passed into regional French, all the more easily since fear already carries a note of shyness in standard French. The expression is mostly used in the negative question form, as pas crento?, which mothers used to ask children caught misbehaving. A stronger shame is called vergougno, and fear proper is petocho, the root of the French word pétoche.