A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

cranny --- c.1440, supposedly from M.Fr. cran "notch, fissure," from crener "to notch, split," from M.L. crenare, prob. from L. cernere "to separate, sift" (see crisis). But OED casts doubt on this derivation.

crap --- defecate 1846 (v.), 1898 (n.), from one of a cluster of words generally applied to things cast off or discarded (e.g. "weeds growing among corn" (1425), "residue from renderings" (1490s), 18c. underworld slang for "money," and in Shropshire, "dregs of beer or ale"), all probably from M.E. crappe "grain that was trodden underfoot in a barn, chaff" (c.1440), from M.Fr. crape "siftings," from O.Fr. crappe, from M.L. crappa, crapinum "chaff." Sense of "rubbish, nonsense" also first recorded 1898. Despite folk etymology insistence, not from Thomas Crapper (1837-1910) who was, however, a busy plumber and may have had some minor role in the development of modern toilets. The name Crapper is a northern form of Cropper (attested from 1221), an occupational surname, obviously, but the exact reference is unclear.

crape --- 1633, Anglicized spelling of crepe (q.v.).

craps --- 1843, Amer. Eng., unrelated to the term for excrement, from Louisiana Fr. craps, from Fr., corruption of Eng. crabs (see crab), 18c. slang for "a throw of two or three," which is perhaps from the crab sense in crab apple.

crapulous --- 1536, "sick from too much drinking," from L. crapula, from Gk. kraipale "drunken headache or nausea." Since Roman times, often used of the drunken debauch itself, but properly only of its after-effects.

crash --- c.1400, crasschen "break in pieces," appeared 14c. with no identifiable ancestors or relatives, and is probably onomatopoeic. Sense of "financial collapse" is 1817, "collision" is 1910, "falling airplane" is W.W.I. Computing sense is 1973, which makes it one of the earliest computer jargon words. Meaning "break into a party, etc." is 1922. Slang meaning "sleep" dates from 1943; especially from 1965.

crass --- 1545, from M.Fr. crasse, from L. crassus "solid, thick, dense." The literal sense has always been rare in Eng.

crate --- 1688, from L. cratis "wickerwork, lattice," or from Du. krat "basket."

crater --- 1613, from Gk. krater "bowl for mixing wine with water," from kera- "to mix." used in L. for bowl-shaped mouth of a volcano. Applied to features of the Moon since 1860.

cravat --- 1656, from Fr. cravate, from Cravate "Croatian," from Ger. Krabate, from Serbo-Croat Hrvat "a Croat," from O.Slav. Churvatinu "Croat," lit. "mountaineer, highlander," from churva "mountain" (cf. Rus. khrebet "mountain chain"). Cravats came into fashion 1650s in imitation of linen scarves worn by Croatian mercenaries in the French army in the Thirty Years War.

crave --- O.E. crafian "demand by right," from N.Gmc. *krabojan, perhaps related to craft. Current sense "to long for" is c.1400, probably through intermediate meaning "to ask very earnestly" (c.1300).

craven --- c.1225, perhaps from O.Fr. cravante "defeated," pp. of cravanter, from L. crepare "to crack, creak." Sense affected by crave and moved from "defeated" to "cowardly" (1581) perhaps via intermediary sense of "confess oneself defeated."

craw --- O.E. *cræg "throat," a Gmc. word of obscure origin.

crawfish --- 1624, generally dismissed by British etymologists as a 19c. Amer.Eng. variant of crayfish (q.v.), but it apparently existed in M.E.

crawl --- c.1200, crewlen, from a Scand. source, perhaps O.N. krafla "to claw (one's way)." If there was an O.E. *craflian, it has not been recorded. Swimming sense is from 1903, the stroke developed by Frederick Cavill, well-known English swimmer who emigrated to Australia and modified the standard stroke of the day after observing South Seas islanders. So called because the swimmer's motion in the water resembles crawling.

crayfish --- c.1400, from O.Fr. crevice (13c.), from Frank. word probably related to crab (cf. O.H.G. krebiz "crab, shellfish"); spelling altered 16c. on influence of fish.

crayon --- 1644, from Fr. crayon "pencil," orig. "chalk pencil," from craie "chalk," from L. creta "chalk."

craze --- c.1369, probably from O.N. *krasa "shatter," perhaps via an O.Fr. form. Originally "to shatter;" now-obsolete metaphoric use for "break down in health" (1476) led to n. sense of "mental breakdown." Extension to "mania, fad," is first recorded 1813. Original sense preserved in crazy quilt pattern. Crazy is from 1576 as "sickly;" from 1617 as "insane;" and from 1927 in jazz slang for "cool, exciting." Phrase crazy like a fox recorded from 1935.

creak --- c.1325, "utter a harsh cry," of imitative origin. Used of the sound made by a rusty gate hinge, etc., from 1583.

cream --- 1332, from O.Fr. cresme, blend of L.L. chrisma "ointment" (from Gk. chrisma "unguent"), and L.L. cramum "cream," perhaps from Gaulish. Replaced O.E. ream. Re-borrowed from Fr. 19c., as creme. Figurative sense of "most excellent element or part" is from 1581. Verb meaning "to beat, thrash, wreck" is 1929, U.S. colloquial. Cream-cheese is from 1583.

crease --- 1578, altered from creaste, perhaps variant of crest, via meaning "a fold in a length of cloth" (1433) which produced a crest.

create --- c.1386, from L. creatus, pp. of creare "to make, produce," related to crescere "arise, grow" (see crescent). Creator for "Supreme Being" (c.1300) drove out native scieppend, from verb scieppan (see shape). Creative is from 1678, originally literal; of the arts, meaning "imaginative," from 1816, first attested in Wordsworth. Creative writing is from 1907. The native word for creation in the Biblical sense was O.E. frum-sceaft. Creationism as a name for the religious reaction to Darwin is from 1880. "James Ussher (1581-1656), Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland, and Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College in Dublin was highly regarded in his day as a churchman and as a scholar. Of his many works, his treatise on chronology has proved the most durable. Based on an intricate correlation of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean histories and Holy writ, it was incorporated into an authorized version of the Bible printed in 1701, and thus came to be regarded with almost as much unquestioning reverence as the Bible itself. Having established the first day of creation as Sunday 23 October 4004 B.C. ... Ussher calculated the dates of other biblical events, concluding, for example, that Adam and Eve were driven from Paradise on Monday 10 November 4004 BC, and that the ark touched down on Mt Ararat on 5 May 1491 BC `on a Wednesday'." [Craig, G.Y., and E.J. Jones, "A Geological Miscellany," Princeton University Press, 1982.]

creatine --- 1840, from Gk. kreas "flesh, meat." Organic base discovered 1835 by Fr. physicist Michel-Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889) in the juice of flesh.

creature --- c.1280, "anything created," also "living being," from L. creatura "thing created," from pp. stem of creare "create." Meaning "anything that ministers to man's comforts" (1614), after I Tim. iv 4, led to jocular use for "whisky" (1638).

creche --- Christmas manger scene, 1792, from Fr. crèche, from O.Fr. cresche, ult. from O.H.G. kripja, from the root of crib. Also "a public nursery for infants where they are cared for while their mothers are at work" (1854).

credence --- c.1338, from M.L. credentia, from L. credentum (nom. credens), pp. of credere "believe, trust." Credentials is from c.1674.

credit --- 1526, from L. creditum "a loan, thing entrusted to another," from pp. of credere "to trust, entrust, believe." The commercial sense was the original one in Eng. (creditor is from 1447). Meaning "honor, acknowledgment of merit," is from 1607. Academic sense of "point for completing a course of study" is 1904. Movie/broadcasting sense is 1914. Credible "believable" is from c.1374. Credibility gap is 1966, Amer.Eng., in reference to official statements about the Vietnam War. Credit card is from 1952; the phrase was used late 19c. to mean "traveler's check."

credo --- c.1175, from L., lit. "I believe" (see creed).

credulous --- 1576, from L. credulus, from credere "to believe." Credulity is early 15c.

creed --- O.E. creda "article or statement of Christian belief," from L. credo "I believe," perhaps from PIE *kerd-dhe- "to believe," lit. "heart to put" (cf. O.Ir. cretim, Ir. creidim, Welsh credu, Skt. crad-dadhami). The first word of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, broadening 17c. to mean "any statement of belief."

creek --- 1449, creke "narrow inlet in a coastline," from kryk (c.1230), probably from O.N. kriki "nook," perhaps infl. by Anglo-Fr. crique, itself from a Scand. source via Norman. Perhaps ultimately related to crook. Extended to "inlet or short arm of a river" by 1577, which probably led to use for "small stream, brook" in Amer.Eng. (1622). Also used there and in Canada, Australia, New Zealand for "branch of a main river," possibly from explorers moving up main rivers and seeing and noting mouths of tributaries without knowing they often were extensive rivers of their own. Slang phrase up the creek "in trouble," often esp. "pregnant," first recorded 1941, perhaps originally armed forces slang for "lost while on patrol."

Creek --- Indian tribe or confederation, 1725, named for creek, the geographical feature, and abbreviated from Ochese Creek Indians, from the stream in Ga. where English first encountered them. Native name is Muskogee, a word of uncertain origin.

creel --- c.1425, of unknown origin, originally Scottish.

creep --- O.E. creopan "to creep" (class II strong verb; past tense creap, pp. cropen), from P.Gmc. *kreupanan, from PIE base *greug-. Use for "despicable person" is 1935, Amer.Eng. slang, perhaps from earlier sense of "sneak thief" (1914). Creepy (1831) refers to the sensation of creeping in the flesh caused by horror or repugnance. Creepy-crawly first recorded 1858. The creeps first attested 1849, in Dickens.

cremation --- 1623, from L. cremationem (nom. crematio), from cremare "to burn," from PIE *krem-, extended form of base *ker- "heat, fire" (see carbon). Cremate is an 1874 back-formation.

creme --- 1845, from Fr. crème (see cream). Crème de la crème "elite of society" is 1848.

crenel --- open space on an embattlement, c.1330, from O.Fr. crenel (12c.), apparently a dim. of cren "notch" (see cranny).

creole --- 1604, from Fr. creole, from Sp. criollo "person native to a locality," from Port. crioulo, dim. of cria "person (especially a servant) raised in one's house," from criar "to raise or bring up," from L. creare "to produce, create." The exact sense varies with local use. Originally with no connotation of color or race; Fowler (1926) writes: "Creole does not imply mixture of race, but denotes a person either of European or (now rarely) of negro descent born and naturalized in certain West Indian and American countries."

creosote --- 1835, from Ger. kreosot, coined 1832 by its discoverer, German-born natural philosopher Carl Ludwig, Baron Reichenbach (1788–1869) from Gk. kreo-, comb. form of kreas "flesh" + soter "preserver," from soizein "save, preserve." So called because it was used as an antiseptic.

crepe --- 1797, from Fr. crêpe, from O.Fr. crespe, from L. crispa, fem. of crispus "curled." Meaning "small, thin pancake" is from 1877. Crepe paper is first attested 1895.

crescent --- 1399, from Anglo-Fr. cressaunt, from O.Fr. creissant, from L. crescentum (nom. crescens), pp. of crescere "come forth, spring up, grow, thrive," from PIE base *ker- "to grow" (cf. L. Ceres, goddess of agriculture, creare "to bring forth, create, produce;" Gk. kouros "boy," kore "girl;" Arm. serem "bring forth," serim "be born"). First applied to the waxing moon, luna crescens, but subsequently mistaken to mean the shape, not the stage. A badge or emblem of the Turkish sultans (probably chosen for its suggestion of "increase"); figurative sense of "Muslim political power" is from 1589, but modern writers often falsely associate it with the Saracens of the Crusades or the Moors of Spain. Horns of the waxing moon are on the viewer's left side; those of the waning moon are on his right. Croissant is the modern Fr. form of the word. The original L. sense is preserved in crescendo, borrowed 1776 as a musical phrase from It., from L. crescendo, abl. of gerund of crescere.

cress --- O.E. cresse, originally cærse, from P.Gmc. *krasjon-, which may be connected to creep, giving the word a literal sense of "creeper." It underwent a metathesis similar to grass.

crest --- c.1312, from O.Fr. creste "tuft, comb," from L. crista "tuft, plume," perhaps related to word for "hair," but also used for crest of a cock or a helmet, replaced O.E. hris. Crestfallen (1589) comes from cockfighting.

cretaceous --- c.1675, adj., "chalky," from L. cretaceus "chalky," from creta "chalk." As a geological period (with a capital C-), it was first used 1832. The extensive chalk beds of southeastern England were laid down during the Cretaceous.

cretin --- 1779, from Fr. Alpine dialect crestin, "a dwarfed and deformed idiot," from V.L. *christianus "a Christian," a generic term for "anyone," but often with a sense of "poor fellow."

crevice --- c.1340, from O.Fr. crevace, from V.L. *crepacea, from L. crepare "to crack, creak," meaning shifted from the sound of breaking to the resulting fissure.

crew --- c.1437, from O.Fr. creue "an increase, recruit, military reinforcement," from fem. pp. of creistre "grow," from L. crescare "arise, grow." Meaning "people acting or working together" is first attested 1570. "Gang of men on a warship" is from 1692. Crew-cut first attested 1938, so called because the style was originally adopted by boat crews at Harvard and Yale.

crewel --- 1598, "embroidery," of unknown origin. Earliest usage is 1494, as a name for a kind of thin, worsted yarn.

crib --- O.E. cribbe "manger, fodder bin in cowsheds and fields," from a W.Gmc. root probably related to Ger. krebe "basket." Meaning "child's bed with barred sides" is 1649; probably from frequent use in reference to the manger where infant Jesus was laid. Verb meaning "steal" is 17c. from alternate meaning "a basket," and this is probably source of student slang "plagiarize" (1778). Thieves' slang for "dwelling house" dates to at least 1812. The O.H.G. version passed to Fr. and became creche.

cribbage --- the card game, 1630, probably from crib "set of cards thrown from each player's hand," of uncertain origin, though this word is later than the game name.

crick --- c.1424, of uncertain origin; OED says "probably onomatopoeic," but it is difficult to imagine of what.

cricket (1) --- insect, c.1325, from O.Fr. criquet (12c.), from criquer "to creak, rattle, crackle," of echoic origin.

cricket (2) --- game, 1598, apparently from O.Fr. criquet "goal post, stick," perhaps from M.Du./M.Flem. cricke "stick, staff." Sense of "fair play" is first recorded 1851, on notion of "cricket as it should be played."

crier --- as an officer of the courts, 1292 (see cry); town crier sense is 1387.

crikey --- euphemism for Christ, first recorded 1838.

crime --- c.1250, from O.Fr. crimne, from L. crimen (gen. criminis) "charge, indictment, offense," from cernere "to decide, to sift" (see crisis). But Klein rejects this and suggests *cri-men, which would originally have been "cry of distress." The L. word is glossed in O.E. by facen, also "deceit, fraud, treachery." Crime wave first attested 1920 (in headline in the "Times" of London). Criminal (adj.) preserved the L. -n-; as a noun it is from c.1626.

crimp --- 1638; O.E. had gecrympan "to crimp, curl," but the modern word is probably from M.Du. or L.Ger. crimpen/krimpen "to shrink, crimp." To put a crimp in (something) is 1896, U.S. slang.

crimson --- 1416, "deep red color," from O.Sp. cremesin "of or belonging to the kermes" (the shield-louse insects from which a deep red dye was obtained), from M.L. cremesinus, from Arabic qirmiz "kermes," from Skt. krmi-ja a compound meaning "(red dye) produced by a worm," from krmih "worm" + -ja- "produced" (from PIE *gene-). For sense evolution, see cochineal. Cf. O.C.S. cruminu, Rus. cermnyj "red," from the same source. Cf. also vermilion. The insect (Kermes vermilio) lives on the Kermes oak. The insects were gathered commercially in Mediterranean countries and sold throughout Europe. Kermes dyes have been found in burial wrappings in Anglo-Scandinavian York. It fell out of use with the introduction of cochineal. The dyes were comparable in quality and color intensity, but ten to twelve times as much kermes was needed to produce the same effect as cochineal.

cringe --- c.1225, from causative of O.E. cringan "give way, fall (in battle), become bent," from P.Gmc. *krank- "bend, curl up."

crinkle --- c.1385, from freq. of O.E. crincan, var. of cringan "to bend, yield" (see cringe).

crinoid --- 1836, from Gk. krinoeides "lily-like."

crinoline --- 1830, from Fr. "hair cloth," from It. crinolino, from crino "horsehair," from L. crinis "hair" + lino "flax, thread," from L. linum. So called from the warp and woof fibers of the original mixture.

cripple --- O.E. crypel, related to cryppan "to crook, bend," from P.Gmc. *krupilaz, and/or related to O.E. creopan "to creep."

crisis --- c.1425, from Gk. krisis "turning point in a disease" (used as such by Hippocrates and Galen), lit. "judgment," from krinein "to separate, decide, judge," from PIE base *krei- "to sieve, discriminate, distinguish" (cf. Gk. krinesthai "to explain;" O.E. hriddel "sieve;" L. cribrum "sieve," crimen "judgment, crime," cernere (pp. cretus) "to sift, separate;" O.Ir. criathar, O.Welsh cruitr "sieve;" M.Ir. crich "border, boundary"). Transferred non-medical sense is 1627. A Ger. term for "mid-life crisis" is Torschlusspanik, lit. "shut-door-panic," fear of being on the wrong side of a closing gate.

crisp --- O.E. crisp "curly," from L. crispus "curled." It began to mean "brittle" 1530, for obscure reasons. Figurative sense of "neat, brisk" is from 1814. Potato crisps (the British version of U.S. potato chips) is from 1929.

crispin --- 1645, "shoemaker," in literary use only, from Ss. Crispin and Crispinian (martyred at Soissons, c.285 C.E.), patrons of shoemakers. French hagiographers make the brothers noble Romans who, while they preached in Gaul, worked as shoemakers to avoid living on the alms of the faithful. The name is Crispinus, a Roman cognomen, from L. crispus "curly" (probably with reference to hair).

crisscross --- 1818, from M.E. crist(s)-crosse "Christ's cross." Used today without awareness of origin.

criterion --- 1661, from Gk. kriterion "means for judging, standard," from krites "judge."

critic --- 1583, from L. criticus, from Gk. kritikos "able to make judgments," from krinein "to separate, decide." The Eng. word always had overtones of "censurer, faultfinder." Critical in this sense is from 1590; meaning "of the nature of a crisis" is 1649 (see crisis). "A perfect judge will read each work of wit With the same spirit that its author writ;" [Pope, "An Essay on Criticism," 1709]

critique --- 1702, restored Fr. spelling of 17c. critick "art of criticism" (see critic).

critter --- 1815, dialectal or humorous pronunciation of creature.

Cro Magnon --- 1869, from the name of a hill in Dordogne department of France, where in a cave prehistoric human remains were found in 1868.

croak (v.) --- c.1460, crouken, onomatopoeic or related to O.E. cracian (see crack). Slang meaning "to die" is first recorded 1812, from sound of death rattle. Croaker "prophet of evil" (1637) is from the raven (cf. M.E. crake "a raven," c.1320, from O.N. kraka "crow," of imitative origin).

Croat --- see cravat.

crochet --- 1846, from Fr. crochet, dim. of croc "hook," from O.N. krokr "hook." So called for the hooked needle used.

crock --- O.E. crocc, crocca "pot," from P.Gmc. *krogu "pitcher, pot." Crockery is from 1719.

crocodile --- 1563, restored spelling of M.E. cocodrille (c.1300), from M.L. cocodrillus, from L. crocodilus, from Gk. krokodilos, word applied by Herodotus to the crocodile of the Nile, apparently due to its basking habits, from kroke "pebbles" + drilos "worm." Crocodile tears story was in Eng. from at least c.1400.

crocus --- 1398, from L. crocus, from Gk. krokos "saffron, crocus," probably of Sem. origin (cf. Arab kurkum), ult. from Skt. kunkumam. The autumnal crocus (Crocus sativa) was a common source of yellow dye in Roman times, and was perhaps grown in England, where the word existed as O.E. croh, but this form of the word was forgotten by the time the plant was re-introduced in Western Europe by the Crusaders.

croft --- O.E. croft "enclosed field," of unknown etymology. Crofter is 1799, originally Scottish.

Crohn's disease --- 1935, for U.S. pathologist B.B. Crohn (1884-1983), one of the team that wrote the article describing it in 1932.

croissant --- 1899, see crescent.

cromlech --- 1603, from Welsh, from crom, fem. of crwm "crooked, bent, concave" + llech "(flat) stone." Applied in Wales and Cornwall to what in Brittany is a dolmen; a cromlech there is a circle of standing stones.

crone --- c.1386, from Anglo-Fr. carogne, from O.N.Fr., term of abuse for a cantankerous or withered woman, lit. "carrion," from V.L. *caronia.

crony --- 1665, Cambridge student slang, probably from Gk. khronios "long-lasting," from khronos "time," and with a sense of "old friend," or "contemporary." Cronyism in political sense is 1950.

crook --- c.1225, "hook-shaped instrument or weapon," from O.N. krokr "hook, corner," of obscure origin. Meaning of "swindler" is Amer.Eng., 1879, but crook "dishonest trick" was in M.E.

croon --- c.1400, originally Scottish, from M.Du. kronen "to lament, mourn," perhaps onomatopoeic. Originally "to bellow like a bull" as well as "to utter a low, murmuring sound" (c.1460). Popularized by Robert Burns. Sense evolved to "lament," then to "sing softly and sadly." Crooner, as a type of popular singer, is from 1930.

crop --- O.E. cropp "bird's craw," also "head or top of a sprout or herb." Meaning of "harvest product" is c.1300, probably through verb meaning "cut off the top of a plant" (c.1213). The general meaning of "to cut off" is c.1420.

croquet --- 1858, from Northern Fr. dialect croquet "hockey stick," from O.N.Fr. "shepherd's crook," from O.Fr. croc, from O.N. krokr "hook." Game originated in Brittany, popularized in Ireland c.1830, England c.1850, where it was very popular until 1872.

croquette --- 1706, from Fr., from croquer "to crunch."

cross --- O.E. cros, from O.Ir. cros, probably via Scand., from L. crux (gen. crucis) "stake, cross," orig. a tall, round pole, possibly of Phoenician origin. Replaced O.E. rood. The adjective meaning "ill-tempered" is 1639, probably from 16c. sense of "contrary, athwart," especially with reference to winds and sailing ships. Cross-stitch is first recorded 1710; cross-examine is from 1664; cross-fire from 1860; and cross-eye from 1826. Cross-dressing is from 1911, a translation of Ger. Transvestismus. Crossword puzzle is from Jan. 1914; the first one ran in "New York World" newspaper Dec. 21, 1913, but at first was called word-cross.

crotch --- 1539, original meaning "pitchfork," from O.N.Fr. croche "shepherd's crook," var. of croc "hook" (see crochet); meaning "region where the body forks" is c.1592.

crotchety --- 1825, from crotchet "whim or fancy" (1573); originally an architectural ornament of curled leaves (c.1394), from O.Fr. crochet "hook." The sense evolution is obscure.

crouch --- c.1394, probably from O.Fr. crochir "become bent, crooked," from croche "hook."

croup --- couching illness, 1765, from obsolete verb croup "to cry hoarsely, croak," probably echoic. This was the local name of the disease in southeastern Scotland, given wide currency by Prof. Francis Home of Edinburgh in his 1765 article on it.

crouton --- 1806, from Fr. croûton "small piece of toasted bread," from croûte "crust," from O.Fr. crouste, from L. crusta (see crust).