Chapter C · hap"ter, v. t. (continued 18)

4. To slip, or to become slightly displaced; as, the collodion on a negative, or a coat of varnish, may creep in drying; the quicksilver on a mirror may creep.

5. To move or behave with servility or exaggerated humility; to fawn; as, a creeping sycophant. To come as humbly as they used to creep. Shak.

6. To grow, as a vine, clinging to the ground or to some other support by means of roots or rootlets, or by tendrils, along its length. "Creeping vines." Dryden.

7. To have a sensation as of insects creeping on the skin of the body; to crawl; as, the sight made my flesh creep. See Crawl, v. i.,4.

8. To drag in deep water with creepers, as for recovering a submarine cable.

CREEP Creep, n.

1. The act or process of creeping.

2. A distressing sensation, or sound, like that occasioned by the creeping of insects. A creep of undefinable horror. Blackwood's Mag. Out of the stillness, with gathering creep, Like rising wind in leaves. Lowell.

3. (Mining)

Defn: A slow rising of the floor of a gallery, occasioned by the pressure of incumbent strata upon the pillars or sides; a gradual movement of mining ground.

CREEPER Creep"er (krp"r), n.

1. One who, or that which, creeps; any creeping thing. Standing waters are most unwholesome, . . . full of mites,creepers; slimy, muddy, unclean. Burton.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant that clings by rootlets, or by tendrils, to the ground, or to trees, etc.; as, the Virginia creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia).

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small bird of the genus Certhia, allied to the wrens. The brown or common European creeper is C. familiaris, a variety of which (var. Americana) inhabits America; — called also tree creeper and creeptree. The American black and white creeper is Mniotilta varia.

4. A kind of patten mounted on short pieces of iron instead of rings; also, a fixture with iron points worn on a shoe to prevent one from slipping.

5. pl.

Defn: A spurlike device strapped to the boot, which enables one to climb a tree or pole; — called often telegraph creepers.

6. A small, low iron, or dog, between the andirons.

7. pl.

Defn: An instrument with iron hooks or claws for dragging at the bottom of a well, or any other body of water, and bringing up what may lie there.

8. Any device for causing material to move steadily from one part of a machine to another, as an apron in a carding machine, or an inner spiral in a grain screen.

9. pl. (Arch.)

Defn: Crockets. See Crocket.

CREEPHOLE Creep"hole` (-hl`), n.

1. A hole or retreat onto which an animal may creep, to escape notice or danger.

2. A subterfuge; an excuse.

CREEPIE Creep"ie (-), n.

Defn: A low stool. [Scot.]

CREEPINESS Creep"i*ness (—ns), n.

Defn: An uneasy sensation as of insects creeping on the skin. She felt a curious, uneasy creepiness. Mrs. Alexander.

CREEPING Creep"ing, a.

1. Crawling, or moving close to the ground. "Every creeping thing." Gen. vi. 20.

2. Growing along, and clinging to, the ground, or to a wall, etc., by means of rootlets or tendrils. Casements lined with creeping herbs. Cowper. Ceeping crowfoot (Bot.), a plant, the Ranunculus repens.- Creeping snowberry, an American plant (Chiogenes hispidula) with white berries and very small round leaves having the flavor of wintergreen.

CREEPING CHARLIE Creep"ing Char"lie.

Defn: The stonecrop (Sedum acre).

CREEPINGLY Creep"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: by creeping slowly; in the manner of a reptile; insidiously; cunningly. How slily and creepingly did he address himself to our first parents. South.

CREEPLE Cree"ple (kr"p'l), n. Etym: [See Cripple.]

1. A creeping creature; a reptile. [Obs.] There is one creeping beast, or long creeple (as the name is in Devonshire), that hath a rattle at his tail that doth discover his age. Morton (1632).

2. One who is lame; a cripple. [Obs.] Thou knowest how lame a creeple this world is. Donne.

CREEPY Creep"y (krp"), a.

Defn: Crawly; having or producing a sensation like that caused by insects creeping on the skin. [Colloq.] One's whole blood grew curdling and creepy. R. Browning.

CREES Crees (krz), n. pl.; sing. Cree. (Ethnol.)

Defn: An Algonquin tribe of Indians, inhabiting a large part of British America east of the Rocky Mountains and south of Hudson's Bay.

CREESE Creese (krs), n. Etym: [Malay. kris.]

Defn: A dagger or short sword used by the Malays, commonly having a serpentine blade. [Written also crease and kris.] From a Malayan creese to a sailor's jackknife. Julian Hawthorne.

CREMAILLERE Cré`mail`lère" (kr`m`lyr" or -m`yr"), n. Etym: [F.] (Fort.)

Defn: An indented or zigzaged line of intrenchment.

CREMASTER Cre*mas"ter (kr-ms"tr), n. Etym: [NL., from Gr.

1. (Anat.)

Defn: A thin muscle which serves to draw up the testicle.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The apex of the last abdominal segment of an insect.

CREMASTERIC Crem`as*ter"ic (krm`3s-tr"k), a. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the cremaster; as, the cremasteric artery.

CREMATE Cre"mate (kr"mt or kr-mt"), v. t. Etym: [L. crematus, p. p. of cremare to burn; cf. Skr. cr to cook.]

Defn: To burn; to reduce to ashes by the action of fire, either directly or in an oven or retort; to incremate or incinerate; as, to cremate a corpse, instead of burying it.

CREMATION Cre*ma"tion (kr-m"shn), n. Etym: [L. crematio.]

Defn: A burning; esp., the act or practice of cremating the dead. Without cremation . . . of their bodies. Sir T. Browne.

CREMATIONIST Cre*ma"tion*ist, n.

Defn: One who advocates the practice of cremation.

CREMATOR Cre*ma"tor (-tr), n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: One who, or that which, cremmates or consumes to ashes.

CREMATORIUM; CREMATORY Crem`a*to"ri*um (krm`-t"r-m), Crem"a*to*ry (krm"-t-r), n.; pl. Crematoriums (-Crematories (-r. Etym: [NL. crematorium, fr. L. cremator.]

Defn: A furnace for cremating corpses; a building containing such a furnace.

CREMATORY Crem"a*to*ry, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or employed in, cremation.

CREME Crême, n. [F.]

Defn: Cream; — a term used esp. in cookery, names of liqueurs, etc.

CREMOCARP Crem"o*carp (krm"-krp or kr"m-), n. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: The peculiar fruit of fennel, carrott, parsnip, and the like, consisting of a pair of carpels pendent from a supporting axis.

CREMONA Cre*mo"na (kr-m"n), n.

Defn: A superior kind of violin, formerly made at Cremona, in Italy.

CREMOR Cre"mor (kr"mr), n. Etym: [L. CF. Cream.]

Defn: Cream; a substance resembling cream; yeast; scum.

CREMOSIN Crem"o*sin (krm"-sn), n.

Defn: See Crimson. [Obs.]

CREMS Crems (krmz), n.

Defn: See Krems.

CRENATE; CRENATED Cre"nate (krnt), Cre"na*ted (kr"n-td), a. Etym: [L. crena notch. See Cranny.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having the margin cut into rounded teeth notches, or scallops.

CRENATION Cre*na"tion (kr-n"shn), n.

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A rounded tooth on the edge of a leaf.

2. The condition of being crenate.

CRENATURE Cren"a*ture (krn"-tr or kr"n-; 135), n.

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A rounded tooth or notch of a crenate leaf, or any part that is crenate; — called also crenelle.

2. The state of being crenated or notched.

CRENEL Cre*nel" (kr-nl"), n.

Defn: See Crenelle.

CRENELATE Cren"el*ate (krn"l-t or kr"nl-t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crenelated (- `td); p. pr. & vb. n. Crenelating (-`tng).] Etym: [LL. crenellare, kernellare: cf. F. cr to indent. See Crenelle.] [Written also crenellate.]

1. To furnish with crenelles.

2. To indent; to notch; as, a crenelated leaf. Crenelated molding (Arch.), a kind of indented molding used in Norman buildings.

CRENELATION Cren`el*a"tion (-"shn), n.

Defn: The act of crenelating, or the state of being crenelated; an indentation or an embrasure. [Written also crenellation.]

CRENELLE; CRENEL Cre*nelle", Cre*nel" (kr-nl"), n. Etym: [OF. crenel, F. cr, LL. crenellus, kernellus, dim. (prob.) fr. L. crena notch. See Crenny.]

1. An embrasure or indentation in a battlement; a loophole in a fortress; an indentation; a notch. See Merlon, and Illust. of Battlement.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Crenature.

CRENELLED Cre*nelled" (kr a. (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Crenate.

CRENGLE; CRENKLE Cren"gle (krn"g'l), Cren"kle (-k'l), n.

Defn: See Cringle.

CRENULATE; CRENULATED Cren"u*late (krn"-lt), Cren"u*la`ted (-l`td), a. Etym: [Dim. of crenate.] (Bot.)

Defn: Minutely crenate.

CRENULATION Cren`u*la"tion (-l"shn), n.

1. A minute crenation.

2. The state of being minutely scalloped.

CREOLE Cre"ole (kr"l), n. Etym: [F. cr, Sp. criollo, from an American negro word, perh. a corruption of a Sp. criadillo, dim. of criado servant, formerly also, child, fr. L. creatus, p. p. of creare to create. Cf. Create.]

Defn: One born of European parents in the American colonies of France or Spain or in the States which were once such colonies, esp. a person of French or Spanish descent, who is a native inhabitant of Louisiana, or one of the States adjoining, bordering on the Gulf of of Mexico.

Note: "The term creole negro is employed in the English West Indies to distinguish the negroes born there from the Africans imported during the time of the slave trade. The application of this term to the colored people has led to an idea common in some parts of the United States, though wholly unfounded, that it implies an admixture greater or less of African blood." R. Hildreth.

Note: "The title [Creole] did not first belong to the descendants of Spanish, but of French, settlers, But such a meaning implied a certain excellence of origin, and so came early to include any native of French or Spanish descent by either parent, whose nonalliance with the slave race entitled him to social rank. Later, the term was adopted by, not conceded to, the natives of mixed blood, and is still so used among themselves. . . . Besides French and Spanish, there are even, for convenience of speech, 'colored' Creoles; but there are no Italian, or Sicilian, nor any English, Scotch, Irish, or 'Yankee' Creoles, unless of parentage married into, and themselves thoroughly proselyted in, Creole society." G. W. Cable.

CREOLE Cre"ole (kr"l), a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a Creole or the Creoles.

Note: In New Orleans the word Creole is applied to any product, or variety of manufacture, peculiar to Louisiana; as, Creole ponies, chickens, cows, shoes, eggs, wagons, baskets, etc.

CREOLEAN; CREOLIAN Cre*o"le*an (kr-"l-an), Cre*o"li*an, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or characteristic of, the Creoles. — n.

Defn: A Creole.

CREOLE STATE Creole State.

Defn: Louisiana; — a nickname. See Creole, n. & a.

CREOSOL Cre"o*sol (kr"-sl), n. Etym: [Cresote + phenol.] (Chem.)

Defn: A colorless liquid resembling phenol or carbolic acid, homologous with pyrocatechin, and obtained from beechwood tar and gum guaiacum. [Written also creasol.]

CREOSOTE Cre"o*sote (kr"-st), n. Etym: [Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: Wood-tar oil; an oily antiseptic liquid, of a burning smoky taste, colorless when pure, but usually colored yellow or brown by impurity or exposure. It is a complex mixture of various phenols and their ethers, and is obtained by the distillation of wood tar, especially that of beechwood.

Note: It is remarkable as an antiseptic and deodorizer in the preservation of wood, flesh, etc., and in the prevention of putrefaction; but it is a poor germicide, and in this respect has been overrated. Smoked meat, as ham, owes its preservation and taste to a small quantity of creosote absorbed from the smoke to which it is exposed. Carbolic acid is phenol proper, while creosote is a mixture of several phenols. Coal-tar creosote (Chem.), a colorless or yellow, oily liquid, obtained in the distillation of coal tar, and resembling wood-tar oil, or creosote proper, in composition and properties.

CREOSOTE Cre"o*sote, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Creosoted (-s"td); p. pr. & vb. n. Creosoting.]

Defn: To saturate or impregnate with creosote, as timber, for the prevention of decay.

CREOSOTE BUSH Cre"o*sote bush.

Defn: A shrub (Covillea mexicana) found in desert regions from Colorado to California and southward through Mexico. It has yellow flowers and very resinous foliage with a strong odor of creosote.

CREPANCE; CREPANE Cre"pance (kr"pans), Cre"pane (kr"pn), n. Etym: [Cf. L. crepare to crack.] (Far.)

Defn: An injury in a horse's leg, caused by the shoe of one hind foot striking and cutting the other leg. It sometimes forms an ulcer.

CREPE Crêpe (krp), n.

Defn: Same as Crape.

CREPITANT Crep"i*tant (krp"-tant), a. Etym: [See Crepitate.]

Defn: Having a crackling sound; crackling; rattling. Crepitant rale (Med.), a peculiar crackling sound audible with inspiration in pneumonia and other lung disease.

CREPITATE Crep"i*tate (kr, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Crepitated (-t; p. pr. & vb. n. Crepitating (-t.] Etym: [L. crepitatus, p. p. of crepitare to crackle, v. intensive of crepare to crack. Cf. Crevice.]

Defn: To make a series of small, sharp, rapidly repeated explosions or sounds, as salt in fire; to crackle; to snap.

CREPITATION Crep`i*ta"tion (krp`-t"shn), n. Etym: [Cf. F. crépitation.]

1. The act of crepitating or crackling.

2. (Med.) (a) A grating or crackling sensation or sound, as that produced by rubbing two fragments of a broken bone together, or by pressing upon cellular tissue containing air. (b) A crepitant râle.

CREPITUS Crep"i*tus (krp"-ts), n. Etym: [L., fr. crepare to crack.] (Med.) (a) The noise produced bu a sudden discharge of wind from the bowels. (b) Same as Crepitation, 2.

CREPON Cre"pon (kr"pn; F. kr`pn"), n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A thin stuff made of the finest wool or silk, or of wool and silk.

CREPT Crept (krpt),

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Creep.

CREPUSCLE; CREPUSCULE Cre*pus"cle (kr-ps"s'l), Cre*pus"cule (kr-ps"kl), n. Etym: [L. crepusculum, fr. creper dusky, dark: cf. F. cr.]

Defn: Twilight. Bailey.

CREPUSCULAR; CREPUSCULOUS Cre*pus"cu*lar (-k-lr), Cre*pus"cu*lous (-ls), a. Etym: [Cf. F. cr.]

1. Pertaining to twilight; glimmering; hence, imperfectly clear or luminous. This semihistorical and crepuscular period. Sir G. C. Lewis.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Flying in the twilight or evening, or before sunrise; — said certain birds and insects. Others feed only in the twilight, as bats and owls, and are called crepuscular. Whewell.

CREPUSCULINE Cre*pus"cu*line, a.

Defn: Crepuscular. [Obs.] Sprat.

CRESCENCE Cres"cence (krs"sens), n. Etym: [See Crescent.]

Defn: Increase; enlargement. [Obs.] And toward the moon's attractive crescence bend. H. Brooke.

CRESCENDO Cres*cen"do (krs-sn"d; It. kr-shn"d), a. & adv. Etym: [It., from crescere to increase. See Crescent.] (Mus.)

Defn: With a constantly increasing volume of voice; with gradually increasing strength and fullness of tone; — a direction for the performance of music, indicated by the mark, or by writing the word on the score.

CRESCENDO Cres*cen"do, n. (Mus.) (a) A gradual increase in the strength and fullness of tone with which a passage is performed. (b) A pssage to be performed with constantly increasing volume of tone.

CRESCENT Cres"cent (krs"sent), n. Etym: [OE. cressent, cressaunt, crescent (in sense 1), OF. creissant increasing, F. croissant, p. pr. of cro, OF. creistre, fr. L. crescere to increase, v. incho.; akin to creare to create. See Create, and cf. Accrue, Increase, Crescendo.]

1. The increasing moon; the moon in her first quarter, or when defined by a concave and a convex edge; also, applied improperly to the old or decreasing moon in a like state.

2. Anything having the shape of a crescent or new moon.

3. A representation of the increasing moon, often used as an emblem or badge; as: (a) A symbol of Artemis, or Diana. (b) The ancient symbol of Byzantium or Constantinople. Hence: (c) The emblem of the Turkish Empire, adopted after the taking of Constantinople. The cross of our faith is replanted, The pale, dying crescent is daunted. Campbell.

4. Any one of three orders of knighthood; the first instituted by Charles I., king of Naples and Sicily, in 1268; the second by René of Anjou, in 1448; and the third by the Sultan Selim III., in 1801, to be conferred upon foreigners to whom Turkey might be indebted for valuable services. Brande & C.

5. (Her.)

Defn: The emblem of the increasing moon with horns directed upward, when used in a coat of arms; — often used as a mark of cadency to distinguish a second son and his descendants.

CRESCENT Cres"cent (krs"sent), a.

1. Shaped like a crescent. Astarte, queen of heaven, with crescent horns. Milton.

2. Increasing; growing. O, I see the crescent promise of my spirit hath not set. Tennyson.

CRESCENT Cres"cent, v. t.

1. To form into a crescent, or something resembling a crescent. [R.] Anna Seward.

2. To adorn with crescents.

CRESCENTIC Cres*cen"tic (krs-sn"tk), a.

Defn: Crescent-shaped. "Crescentic lobes." R. Owen.

CRESCENTWISE Cres"cent*wise` (krs"sent-wz`), adv.

Defn: In the form of a crescent; like a crescent. Tennyson.

CRESCIVE Cres"cive (krs"sv), a. Etym: [L. crescere to increase.]

Defn: Increasing; growing. [R.] Unseen, yet crescive in his faculty. Shak.

CRESOL Cre"sol (kr"sl), n. Etym: [From Creosote.] (Chem.)

Defn: Any one of three metameric substances, CH3.C6H4.OH, homologous with and resembling phenol. They are obtained from coal tar and wood tar, and are colorless, oily liquids or solids.

Note: [Called also cresylic acid.]

CRESORCIN Cre*sor"cin (kr-sr"sn), n. (Chem.)

Defn: Same as Isorcin.

CRESS Cress (krs), n.; pl. Cresses (kr. Etym: [OE. ces, cresse, kers, kerse, AS. cresse, cerse; akin to D. kers, G. kresse, Dan. karse, Sw. krasse, and possibly also to OHG. chresan to creep.] (Bot.)

Defn: A plant of various species, chiefly cruciferous. The leaves have a moderately pungent taste, and are used as a salad and antiscorbutic.

Note: The garden cress, called also peppergrass, is the Lepidium sativum; the water cress is the Nasturtium officinale. Various other plants are sometimes called cresses. To strip the brook with mantling cresses spread. Goldsmith. Bitter cress. See under Bitter. — Not worth a cress, or "not worth a kers." a common old proverb, now turned into the meaningless "not worth a curse." Skeat.

CRESSELLE Cres*selle" (krs-sl"), n. Etym: [F. crécelle rattle.] (Eccl.)

Defn: A wooden rattle sometimes used as a substitute for a bell, in the Roman Catholic church, during the latter part of Holy Week, or the last week of Lent.

CRESSET Cres"set (krs"st), n. Etym: [OF. crasset, cresset, sort of lamp or torch; perh. of Dutch or German origin, and akin to E. cruse, F. creuset crucible, E. crucible.]

1. An open frame or basket of iron, filled with combustible material, to be burned as a beacon; an open lamp or firrepan carried on a pole in nocturnal processions. Starry lamps and blazing cressets, fed With naphtha and asphaltus. Milton. As a cresset true that darts its length Of beamy luster from a tower of strength. Wordsworth.

2. (Coopering)

Defn: A small furnace or iron cage to hold fire for charring the inside of a cask, and making the staves flexible. Knight.

CRESSY Cress"y (krs"), a.

Defn: Abounding in cresses. The cressy islets white in flower. Tennyson.

CREST Crest (krst), n. Etym: [OF. creste, F. cr, L. crista.]

1. A tuft, or other excrescence or natural ornament, growing on animal's head; the comb of a cock; the swelling on the head of a serpent; the lengthened feathers of the crown or nape of bird, etc. Darwin. [Attack] his rising crest, and drive the serpent back. C. Pitt.

2. The plume of feathers, or other decoration, worn on a helmet; the distinctive ornament of a helmet, indicating the rank of the weare; hence, also, the helmet. Stooping low his lofty crest. Sir W. Scott. And on his head there stood upright A crest, in token of a knight. Gower.

3. (Her.)

Defn: A bearing worn, not upon the shield, but usually above it, or separately as an ornament for plate, liveries, and the like. It is a relic of the ancient cognizance. See Cognizance, 4.

4. The upper curve of a horse's neck. Throwing the base thong from his bending crest. Shak.

5. The ridge or top of wave. Like wave with crest of sparkling foam. Sir W. Scott.

6. The summit of a hill or mountain ridge.

7. The helm or head, as typical of a high spirit; pride; courage. Now the time is come That France must vail her lofty plumed crest. Shak.

8. (Arch.)

Defn: The ornamental finishing which surmounts the ridge of a roof, canopy, etc. The finials of gables and pinnacles are sometimes called crest. Parker.

9. (Engin.)

Defn: The top line of a slope or embankment. Crest tile, a tile made to cover the ridge of a roof, fitting upon it like a saddle. — Interior crest (Fort.), the highest line of the parapet.

CREST Crest, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crested; p. pr. & vb. n. Cresting.]

1. To furnish with, or surmount as, a crest; to serve as a crest for.

His legs bestrid the ocean, his reared arm Crested the world. Shak. Mid groves of clouds that crest the mountain's brow. Wordsworth.

2. To mark with lines or streaks, like, or regarded as like, waving plumes. Like as the shining sky in summer's night, . . . Is crested with lines of fiery light. Spenser.

CREST Crest (krst), v. i.

Defn: To form a crest.

CRESTED Crest"ed (krst"d), a.

1. Having a crest. But laced crested helm. Dryden.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having a crest of feathers or hair upon the head. "The crested bird." Dryden.

3. (Bott.)

Defn: Bearing any elevated appendage like a crest, as an elevated line or ridge, or a tuft. Gray.

CRESTFALLEN Crest"fall`en (-fl`'n), a.

1. With hanging head; hence, dispirited; dejected; cowed. Let it make thee crestfullen; Ay, and allay this thy abortive pride. Shak.

2. Having the crest, or upper part of the neck, hanging to one side; — said of a horse.

CRESTING Crest"ing, n. (Arch.)

Defn: An ornamental finish on the top of a wall or ridge of a roof.

CRESTLESS Crest"less, a.

Defn: Without a crest or escutcheon; of low birth. "Crestless yeomen." Shak.

CRESYLIC Cre*syl"ic (kr-sl"k), a. Etym: [From Creosote.] (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or derived from, cresol, creosote, etc. Cresylic acid. (Chem.) See Cresol.

CRETACEOUS Cre*ta"ceous (kr-t"shs), a. Etym: [L. cretaceus, fr. creta chalk. See Crayon.]

Defn: Having the qualities of chalk;abounding with chalk; chalky; as, cretaceous rocks and formations. See Chalk. Cretaceous acid, an old name for carbonic acid. — Cretaceous formation (Geol.), the series of strata of various kinds, including beds of chalk, green sand, etc., formed in the Cretaceous period; — called also the chalk formation. See the Diagram under Geology. — Cretaceous period (Geol.), the time in the latter part of the Mesozoic age during which the Cretaceous formation was deposited.

CRETACEOUS; CRETACIC Cre*ta"ceous, a. Also Cre*tac"ic. (Geol.)

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or designating, the period of time following the Jurassic and preceding the Eocene.

CRETACEOUSLY Cre*ta"ceous*ly, adv.

Defn: In a chalky manner; as chalk.

CRETAN Cre"tan (kr"tan), a.

Defn: Pertaining to Crete, or Candia. — n.

Defn: A native or inhabitant of Crete or Candia.

CRETE Crete (krt), n. Etym: [L. Cres, Cretis.]

Defn: A Cretan

CRETIAN Cre"tian (kr"shan), a. & n.

Defn: See Cretan.

CRETIC Cre"tic (kr"tk), n. Etym: [L. Creticus (sc. pes foot), Gr. (Gr. & Lat. Pros.)

Defn: A poetic foot, composed of one short syllable between two long ones (-Bentley.

CRETICISM Cre"ti*cism (-t-sz'm), n.

Defn: Falsehood; lying; cretism.

CRETIN Cre"tin (kr"tn), n. Etym: [F. crétin; of uncertain origin.]

Defn: One afflicted with cretinism.

CRETINISM Cre"tin*ism (kr"tn-*z'm), n. Etym: [F. cr.]

Defn: A condition of endemic or inherited idiocy, accompanied by physical degeneracy and deformity (usually with goiter), frequent in certain mountain valleys, esp. of the Alps.

CRETINOUS Cre"tin*ous (-s), a.

Defn: Having the characteristics of a cretin. "Cretinous stupefaction." Ruskin.

CRETISM Cre"tism (kr"tz'm), n. Etym: [Gr. Titus i. 12.]

Defn: A Cretan practice; iying; a falsehood.

CRETONNE Cre*tonne" (kr-tn"), n. Etym: [F., gr. Creton, its first manufacturer.]

1. A strong white fabric with warp of hemp and welt of flax.

2. A fabric with cotton warp and woolen weft.

3. A kind of chintz with a glossy surface.

CRETOSE Cre"tose (kr"ts), a. Etym: [L. cretosus, fr. creta chalk.]

Defn: Chalky; cretaceous. [Obs.] Ash.

CREUTZER Creut"zer

Defn: (kroitn. See Kreutzer.

CREUX Creux (kr), n. Etym: [F., adj., hollow, n., a hollow.]

Defn: Used in English only in the expression en creux. Thus, engraving en creux is engraving in intaglio, or by sinking or hollowing out the design.

CREVALLE Cre`val*le" (kr`vl-l"), n. Etym: [Prob. of same origin as cavally. See Cavally.] (Zoöl.) (a) The cavally or jurel. See Cavally, and Jurel. (b) The pompano (Trachynotus Carolinus).

CREVASSE Cre`vasse" (kr`vs"), n. Etym: [F. See Crevice.]

1. A deep crevice or fissure, as in embankment; one of the clefts or fissure by which the mass of a glacier is divided.

2. A breach in the levee or embankment of a river, caused by the pressure of the water, as on the lower Mississippi. [U.S.]

CREVET Crev"et (krv"t), n. Etym: [Cf. Creut.]

Defn: A crucible or melting pot; a cruset. Crabb.

CREVICE Crev"ice (krv"s), n. Etym: [OE. crevace, crevice. F. crevasse, fr. crever to break, burst, fr. L. crepare to crack,break. Cf. Craven, Crepitate, Crevasse.]

Defn: A narrow opening resulting from a split or crack or the separation of a junction; a cleft; a fissure; a rent. The mouse, Behind the moldering wainscot, shrieked, Or from the crevice peered about. Tennyson.

CREVICE Crev"ice, v. t.

Defn: To crack; to flaw. [R.] Sir H. Wotton.

CREVICED Crev"iced (-st), a.

Defn: Having a crevice or crevices; as, a creviced structure for storing ears of corn. Trickling through the creviced rock. J. Cunningham.

CREVIS Crev"is (-s), n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The crawfish. [Prov. Eng.]

CREW Crew (kr), n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The Manx shearwater.

CREW Crew (kr), n. Etym: [From older accrue accession, reAccrue, Crescent.]

1. A company of people associated together; an assemblage; a throng. There a noble crew Of lords and ladies stood on every side. Spenser. Faithful to whom to thy rebellious crew Milton.

2. The company of seamen who man a ship, vessel, or at; the company belonging to a vessel or a boat.

Note: The word crew, in law, is ordinarily used as equivalent to ship's company, including master and other officers. When the master and other officers are excluded, the context always shows it. Story. Burrill.

3. In an extended sense, any small body of men associated for a purpose; a gang; as (Naut.), the carpenter's crew; the boatswain's crew.

Syn. — Company; band; gang; horde; mob; herd; throng; party.

CREW Crew (kr),

Defn: imp. of Crow.

CREWEL Crew"el (kr"l), n. Etym: [Perh. for clewel, dim. of clew a ball of thread; or cf. D. krul curl, E. curl. sq. root26.]

Defn: Worsted yarn,, slackly twisted, used for embroidery.

CREWELWORK Crew"el*work` (-wrk`), n.

Defn: Embroidery in crewels, commonly done upon some plain material, such as linen.

CREWET Crew"et (kr"t), n.

Defn: See Cruet.

CRIB Crib (krb), n. Etym: [AS. crybb; akin to OS. kribbja, D. krib, kribbe, Dan. krybbe, G. krippe, and perh. to MHG. krebe basket, G, korb, and E. rip a sort of wicker basket.]

1. A manger or rack; a feeding place for animals. The steer lion at one crib shall meet. Pope.

2. A stall for oxen or other cattle. Where no oxen are, the crib is clean. Prov. xiv. 4.

3. A small inclosed bedstead or cot for a child.

4. A box or bin, or similar wooden structure, for storing grain, salt, etc.; as, a crib for corn or oats.

5. A hovel; a hut; a cottage. Why rather, Sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs, . . . Than in the perfumed chambers of the great Shak.

6. (Mining)

Defn: A structure or frame of timber for a foundation, or for supporting a roof, or for lining a shaft.

7. A structure of logs to be anchored with stones; — used for docks, pier, dams, etc.

8. A small raft of timber. [Canada]

9. A small theft; anything purloined;; a plagiaris [Colloq.] The Latin version technically called a crib. Ld. Lytton. Occasional perusal of the Pagan writers, assisted by a crib. Wilkie Collins.

10. A miner's luncheon. [Cant] Raymond.

11. (Card Playing)

Defn: The discarded cards which the dealer can use in scoring points in cribbage.

CRIB Crib, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Cribbed (krbd); p.pr. & vb. n. Cribbing.]

1. To shut up or confine in a narrow habitation; to cage; to cramp. If only the vital energy be not cribbed or cramped. I. Taylor. Now I am cabin'd, cribbed, confined. Shak.

2. To pilfer or purloin; hence, to steal from an author; to appropriate; to plagiarize; as, to crib a line from Milton. [Colloq.] Child, being fond of toys, cribbed the necklace. Dickens.

CRIB Crib, v. i.

1. To crowd together, or to be confined, as in a crib or in narrow accommodations. [R.] Who sought to make . . . bishops to crib in a Presbyterian trundle bed. Gauden.

2. To make notes for dishonest use in recitation or examination. [College Cant]

3. To seize the manger or other solid object with the teeth and draw in wind; — said of a horse.

CRIBBAGE Crib"bage (krb"j), n. Etym: [From Crib, v. t., 2.]

Defn: A game of cards, played by two or four persons, in which there is a crib. (See Crib, 11.) It is characterized by a great variety of chances. A man's fancy would be summed up in cribbage. John Hall. Cribbage board, a board with holes and pegs, used by cribbage players to score their game.

CRIBBER; CRIB-BITER Crib"ber (krb"r), Crib"-bit`er (-bt"r), n.

Defn: A horse that has the habit of cribbing.

CRIBBING Crib"bing (krb"bng), n.

1. The act of inclosing or confining in a crib or in close quarters.

2. Purloining; stealing; plagiarizing. [Colloq.]

3. (Mining)

Defn: A framework of timbers and plank backing for a shaft lining, to prevent caving, percolation of water, etc.

4. A vicious habit of a horse; crib-biting. The horse lays hold of the crib or manger with his teeth and draws air into the stomach with a grunting sound.

CRIB-BITING Crib"-bit`ing (krb"bt`ng), n.

Defn: Same as Cribbing, 4.

CRIBBLE Crib"ble (krb"b'l), n. Etym: [F. crible, LL. criblus sieve, fr. L. cribrum.]

1. A coarse sieve or screen.

2. Coarse flour or meal. [Obs.] Johnson.

CRIBBLE Crib"ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cribbled (-b'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Cribbling (-blng).] Etym: [Cf. F. cribler.]

Defn: To cause to pass through a sieve or riddle; to sift.

CRIBBLE Crib"ble, a.

Defn: Coarse; as, cribble bread. [Obs.] Huloet.

CRIBELLUM Cri*bel"lum (krbl"lm), n. Etym: [L., a small sieve, dim. of cribrum sieve.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A peculiar perforated organ of certain spiders (Ciniflonidæ), used for spinning a special kind of silk.

CRIBRATE Crib"rate (krb"rt), a. Etym: [L. cribratus, p.p. of cribrare to sift, fr. cribrum a sieve.]

Defn: Cribriform.

CRIBRATION Cri*bra"tion (kr-br"shn), n. Etym: [Cf. F. cribration, fr. L. cribrare to sift. See Cribble, n.] (Pharmacy)

Defn: The act or process of separating the finer parts of drugs from the coarser by sifting.

CRIBRIFORM Crib"ri*form (krb"rfrm), a. Etym: [L. cribrum sieve + -form: cf. F. cribriforme.]

Defn: Resembling, or having the form of, a sieve; pierced with hokes; as, the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone; a cribriform compress. Cribriform cells (Bot.), those which have here and there oblique or transverse sieve plates, or places perforated with many holes.

CRIBROSE Crib"rose (krb"rs), a. Etym: [L. cribrum sieve.]

Defn: Perforated like a sieve; cribriform.

CRIC Cric (krk), n. Etym: [prob. fr. F. cric a jackscrew.]

Defn: The ring which turns inward and condenses the flame of a lamp. Knight.

CRICK Crick (krk), n. Etym: [See Creak.]

Defn: The creaking of a door, or a noise resembling it. [Obs.] Johnson.

CRICK Crick, n. Etym: [The same as creek a bending, twisting. See Creek, Crook.]

1. A painful, spasmodic affection of the muscles of some part of the body, as of the neck or back, rendering it difficult to move the part. To those also that, with a crick or cramp, have thei necks drawn backward. Holland.

2. Etym: [Cf. F. cric.]

Defn: A small jackscrew. Knight.

CRICKET Crick"et (krk"t), n. Etym: [OE. criket, OF. crequet, criquet; prob. of German origin, and akin to E. creak; cf. D. kriek a cricket. See Creak.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An orthopterous insect of the genus Gryllus, and allied genera. The males make chirping, musical notes by rubbing together the basal parts of the veins of the front wings.

Note: The common European cricket is Gryllus domesticus; the common large black crickets of America are G. niger, G. neglectus, and others. Balm cricket. See under Balm. — Cricket bird, a small European bird (Silvia locustella); — called also grasshopper warbler. — Cricket frog, a small American tree frog (Acris gryllus); — so called from its chirping.

CRICKET Crick"et, n. Etym: [AS. cricc, crycc, crooked staff, crutch. Perh. first used in sense 1, a stool prob. having been first used as a wicket. See Crutch.]

1. A low stool.

2. A game much played in England, and sometimes in America, with a ball, bats, and wickets, the players being arranged in two contesting parties or sides.

3. (Arch.)

Defn: A small false roof, or the raising of a portion of a roof, so as to throw off water from behind an obstacle, such as a chimney.

CRICKET Crick"et, v. i.

Defn: To play at cricket. Tennyson.

CRICKETER Crick"et*er (krk"t-r), n.

Defn: One who plays at cricket.

CRICOID Cri"coid (kr"koid), a. Etym: [Gr. -oid.] (Anat.)

Defn: Resembling a ring; — said esp. of the cartilage at the larynx, and the adjoining parts.

CRICOTHYROID Cri`co*thy"roid (-k-th"roid), a. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining both to the cricoid and the thyroid cartilages.

CRIED Cried (krd),

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Cry.

CRIER Cri"er (kr"r), n. Etym: [Cf. F. crieur. See Cry.]

Defn: One who cries; one who makes proclamation. Specifically, an officer who proclams the orders or directions of a court, or who gives public notice by loud proclamation; as, a town-crier. He openeth his mouth like a crier. Ecclus. xx. 15.

CRIME Crime (krm), n.Etym: [F. crime, fr. L. crimen judicial decision, that which is subjected to such a decision, charge, fault, crime, fr. the root of cernere to decide judicially. See Certain.]

1. Any violation of law, either divine or human; an omission of a duty commanded, or the commission of an act forbidden by law.

2. Gross violation of human law, in distinction from a misdemeanor or trespass, or other slight offense. Hence, also, any aggravated offense against morality or the public welfare; any outrage or great wrong. "To part error from crime." Tennyson.

Note: Crimes, in the English common law, are grave offenses which were originally capitally punished (murder, rape, robbery, arson, burglary, and larceny), as distinguished from misdemeanors, which are offenses of a lighter grade. See Misdemeanors.

3. Any great wickedness or sin; iniguity. Nocrime was thine, if 'tis no crime to love. Pope.

4. That which occasion crime. [Obs.] The tree of life, the crime of our first father's fall. Spenser. Capital crime, a crime punishable with death.

Syn. — Sin; vice; iniquity; wrong. — Crime, Sin,Vice. Sin is the generic term, embracing wickedness of every kind, but specifically denoting an offense as committed against God. Crime is strictly a violation of law either human or divine; but in present usage the term is commonly applied to actions contrary to the laws of the State. Vice is more distinctively that which springs from the inordinate indulgence of the natural appetites, which are in themselves innocent. Thus intemperance, unchastity, duplicity, etc., are vices; while murder, forgery, etc., which spring from the indulgence of selfish passions, are crimes.

CRIMEFUL Crime"ful (krm"fl), a.

Defn: Criminal; wicked; contrary to law, right, or dury. [Obs.] Shak.

CRIMELESS Crime"less, a.

Defn: Free from crime; innocent. Shak.

CRIMINAL Crim"i*nal (krm"-nal), a. Etym: [L. criminalis, fr. crimen: cf. F. criminel. See Crime.]

1. Guilty of crime or sin. The neglect of any of the relative duties renders us criminal in the sight of God. Rogers.

2. Involving a crime; of the nature of a crime; — said of an act or of conduct; as, criminal carelessness. Foppish and fantastic ornaments are only indications of vice, not criminal in themselves. Addison.

3. Relating to crime; — opposed to civil; as, the criminal code. The officers and servants of the crown, violating the personal liberty, or other right of the subject . . . were in some cases liable to criminal process. Hallam. Criminal action (Law), an action or suit instituted to secure conviction and punishment for a crime. — Criminal conversation (Law), unlawful intercourse with a married woman; adultery; — usually abbreviated, crim. con. — Criminal law, the law which relates to crimes.

CRIMINAL Crim"i*nal, n.

Defn: One who has commited a crime; especially, one who is found guilty by verdict, confession, or proof; a malefactor; a felon.

CRIMINALIST Crim"i*nal*ist, n.

Defn: One versed in criminal law. [R.]

CRIMINALITY Crim`i*nal"i*ty (krm`-nl"-t), n. Etym: [LL. criminalitas, fr. L. criminalis. See Criminal.]

Defn: The quality or state of being criminal; that which constitutes a crime; guiltiness; guilt. This is by no means the only criterion of criminality. Blackstone.

CRIMINALLY Crim"i*nal*ly (krm"-nal-l), adv.

Defn: In violation of law; wickedly.

CRIMINALNESS Crim"i*nal*ness, n.

Defn: Criminality. [R.]

CRIMINATE Crim"i*nate (kr, v. t. [imp & p. p. Criminated (-n; p. pr. & vb. n. Criminating (-n.] Etym: [L. criminatus, p. p. of criminare, criminari, to criminate, fr. crimen. See Crime.]

1. To accuse of, or charge with, a crime. To criminate, with the heavy and ungrounded charge of disloyalty and disaffection, an uncorrupt, independent, and reforming parliament. Burke.

2. To involve in a crime or in its consequences; to render liable to a criminal charge. Impelled by the strongest pressure of hope and fear to criminate him. Macaulay.

CRIMINATION Crim`i*na"tion (krm`-n"shn), n. Etym: [L. criminatio.]

Defn: The act of accusing; accusation; charge; complaint. The criminations and recriminations of the adverse parties. Macaulay.

CRIMINATIVE Crim"i*na*tive (krm"-n-tv), a.

Defn: Charging with crime; accusing; criminatory. R. North.

CRIMINATORY Crim"i*na*to*ry (-t-r), a.

Defn: Relating to, or involving, crimination; accusing; as, a criminatory conscience.

CRIMINOLOGY Crim`i*nol"o*gy (-nl"-j), n. Etym: [L. crimen, crimenis, crime + - logy.]

Defn: A treatise on crime or the criminal population. — Crim`i*nol"o*gist (-j, n.

CRIMINOUS Crim"i*nous (krm"-ns), a. Etym: [L. criminosus, fr. crimen. See Crime.]

Defn: Criminal; involving great crime or grave charges; very wicked; heinous. [Obs.] Holland. — Crim"i*nous*ly, adv.. — Crim"i*nous*ness,n. [Obs.]

CRIMOSIN Crim"o*sin (krm"-zn), n. [Obs.]

Defn: See Crimson.

CRIMP Crimp, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crimped (krmt; 215); p. pr. & vb. n. Crimping.] Etym: [Akin to D. krimpen to shrink, shrivel, Sw. krympa, Dan. krympe, and to E. cramp. See Cramp.]

1. To fold or plait in regular undulation in such a way that the material will retain the shape intended; to give a wavy apperance to; as, to crimp the border of a cap; to crimp a ruffle. Cf. Crisp. The comely hostess in a crimped cap. W. Irving.

2. To pinch and hold; to seize.

3. Hence, to entrap into the military or naval service; as, to crimp seamen. Coaxing and courting with intent to crimp him. Carlyle.

4. (Cookery)

Defn: To cause to contract, or to render more crisp, as the flesh of a fish, by gashing it, when living, with a knife; as, to crimp skate, etc. Crimping house, a low lodging house, into which men are decoyed and plied with drink, to induce them to ship or enlist as sailors or soldiers. — Crimping iron. (a) An iron instrument for crimping and curling the hair. (b) A crimping machine. — Crimping machine, a machine with fluted rollers or with dies, for crimping ruffles leather, iron, etc. — Crimping pin, an instrument for crimping or puckering the border of a lady's cap.

CRIMP Crimp, a.

1. Easily crumbled; friable; brittle. [R.] Now the fowler . . . treads the crimp earth. J. Philips.

2. Weak; inconsistent; contradictory. [R.] The evidance is crimp; the witnesses swear backward and forward, and contradict themselves. Arbuthnot.

CRIMP Crimp, n.

1. A coal broker. [Prov. Eng.] De Foe.

2. One who decoys or entraps men into the military or naval service. Marryat.

3. A keeper of a low lodging house where sailors and emigrants are entrapped and fleeced.

4. Hair which has been crimped; — usually in pl.

5. A game at cards. [Obs.] B. Jonson. Boot crimp. See under Boot.

CRIMPAGE Crimp"age (-j), n.

Defn: The act or practice of crimping; money paid to a crimp for shipping or enlisting men.

CRIMPER Crimp"er (-r), n.

Defn: One who, or that which, crimps; as: (a) A curved board or frame over which the upper of a boot or shoe is stretched to the required shape. (b) A device for giving hair a wavy apperance. (c) A machine for crimping or ruffling textile fabrics.

CRIMPLE Crim"ple (krm"p'l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crimpled (-p'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Crimpling (-plng).] Etym: [Dim. of crimp, v. t. ]

Defn: To cause to shrink or draw together; to contract; to curl. [R.] Wiseman.

CRIMPY Crimp"y (krmp"), a.

Defn: Having a crimped appearance; frizzly; as, the crimpy wool of the Saxony sheep.

CRIMSON Crim"son (krm"z'n), n. Etym: [OE. crimson, OF. crimoisin, F. cramoisi (cf. Sp. carmesi.) LL. carmesinus, fr. Ar. qermazi, fr. qermez crimson, kermes, fr. Skr. k produced by a worm; k worm or insect + jan to generate; akin to E. kin. CF. Carmine, Kermes.]

Defn: A deep red color tinged with blue; also, red color in general. Theugh jour be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Is. i. 18. A maid jet rosed over with the virgin crimson of modesty. Shak.

CRIMSON Crim"son, a.

Defn: Of a deep red color tinged with blue; deep red. "A crimson tide." Mrs. Hemans. The blushing poppy with a crimson hue. Prior.

CRIMSON Crim"son, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crimsoned (-z'nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Crimsoning.]

Defn: To dye with crimson or deep red; to redden. Signed in thy spoil and crimsoned in thy lethe. Shak.

CRIMSON Crim"son, b. t.

Defn: To become crimson; to blush. Ancient towers . . . beginning to crimson with the radiant luster of a cloudless July morning. De Quincey.

CRINAL Cri"nal (kr"nal), a. Etym: [L. crinalis, fr. crinis the hair.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the hair. [R.] Blount.

CRINATED Cri"na*ted (kr"n-td), a.

Defn: Having hair; hairy.

CRINATORY Cri"na*to*ry (kr"n-t-r), a.

Defn: Crinitory. Craig.

CRINCUM Crin"cum (krn"km), n. Etym: [Cf. Crinkle.]

Defn: A twist or bend; a turn; a whimsey. [Colloq.] Hudibras.

CRINCUM-CRANCUM Crin"cum-cran"cum (krn"km-krn"km), n.

Defn: A twist; a whimsey or whim. [Colloq.]

CRINED Crined (krnd), a. Etym: [L. crinis hair.] (Her.)

Defn: Having the hair of a different tincture from the rest of the body; as, a charge crined of a red tincture.

CRINEL; CRINET Cri"nel (kr"nEl), Cri"net (kr"nt), n. Etym: [L. crinis hair.]

Defn: A very fine, hairlike feather. Booth.

CRINGE Cringe (krnj), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crnged (krnjd); p. pr. & vb. n. Cringing.] Etym: [As. crincgang, cringan, crincan, to jield, fall; akin to E. crank.]

Defn: To draw one's self together as in fear or servility; to bend or crouch with base humility; to wince; hence; to make court in a degrading manner; to fawn. When they were come up to the place where the lions were, the boys that went before were glad to cringe behind, for they were afraid of the lions. Bunyan. Sly hypocrite, . . . who more than thou Once fawned and cringed, and servilely adored Heaven's awful monarch Milton. Flatterers . . . are always bowing and cringing. Arbuthnot.

CRINGE Cringe, v. t.

Defn: To contract; to draw together; to cause to shrink or wrinkle; to distort. [Obs.] Till like a boy you see him cringe his face, And whine aloud for mercy. Shak.

CRINGE Cringe, n.

Defn: Servile civility; fawning; a shrinking or bowing, as in fear or servility. "With cringe and shrug, and bow obsequious." Cowper.

CRINGELING Cringe"ling, n.

Defn: One who cringes meanly; a fawner.

CRINGER Crin"ger (krn"jr), n.

Defn: One who cringes.

CRINGINGLY Crin"ging*ly, adv.

Defn: In a cringing manner.

CRINGLE Crin"gle (krn"g'l), n. Etym: [Icel. kringla orb; akin to kring around, and to D. kring circle, and to E. cringe, crank.]

1. A withe for fastening a gate.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: An iron or pope thimble or grommet worked into or attached to the edges and corners of a sail; — usually in the plural. The cringles are used for making fast the bowline bridles, earings, etc.

CRINICULTURAL Crin`i*cul"tur*al (krn`-kl"tr-al; 135), a. Etym: [L. crinis hair + cultura.]

Defn: Relating to the growth of hair. [R.]

CRINIGEROUS Cri*nig"er*ous (kr-nj"r-s), a. Etym: [L. criniger; crinis hair + gerere to bear.]

Defn: Bearing hair; hairy. [R.]

CRINITAL Cri"ni*tal (kr"n-tal), a.

Defn: Same as Crinite,

1. He the star crinital adoreth. Stanyhurst.

CRINITE Cri"nite (kr"nt), a. Etym: [L. crinitus, p. p. of crinire to provide or cover with hair, fr. crinis hair.]

1. Having the appearance of a tuft of hair; having a hairlike tail or train. "Comate, crinite, caudate stars."

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Bearded or tufted with hairs. Gray.

CRINITORY Cri"ni*to*ry (kr"n-t-r), a.

Defn: Of or relating to hair; as, a crinitory covering. T. Hook.

CRINKLE Crin"kle (krn"k'l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crinkled (-k'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Crinkling (-klng).] Etym: [A dim., fr. the root of cringe; akin to D. krinkelen to wind or twist. Cf. Cringle, Cringe.]

Defn: To form with short turns, bends, or wrinkles; to mold into inequalites or sinuosities; to cause to wrinkle or curl. The houscrinkled to and fro. Chaucer. Her face all bowsy, Comely crinkled, Wondrously wrinkled. Skelton. The flames through all the casements pushing forth, Like red-not devils crinkled into snakes. Mrs. Browning.

CRINKLE Crin"kle, v. i.

Defn: To turn or wind; ti run in and out in many short bends or turns; to curl; to run in wavws; to wrinkle; also, to rustle, as stiff cloth when moved. The green wheat crinkles like a lake. L. T. Trowbridge. And all the rooms Were full of crinkling silks. Mrs. Browning.

CRINKLE Crin"kle, n.

Defn: A winding or turn; wrinkle; sinuosity. The crinkles in this glass, making objects appear double. A. Tucker.

CRINKLED Crin"kled (krn"k'ld), a.

Defn: Having short bends, turns, or wrinkles; wrinkled; wavy; zigzag. "The crinkled lightning." Lowell.

CRINKLY Crin"kly (-kl), a.

Defn: Having crinkles; wavy; wrinkly.

CRINOID Cri"noid (kr"noid), a. [See Crinoidea.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Crinoidal. — n.

Defn: One of the Crinoidea.

CRINOIDAL Cri*noid"al (kr-noidal), a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of pertaining to crinoids; consisting of, or containing, crinoids.

CRINOIDEA Cri*noid"e*a (kr-noid"-), n. pl. Etym: [NL., from Gr. -oid: cf. F. crino.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large class of Echinodermata, including numerous extinct families and genera, but comparatively few living ones. Most of the fossil species, like some that are recent, were attached by a jointed stem. See Blastoidea, Cystoidea, Comatula.

CRINOIDEAN Cri*noid"e*an (-an), n. (Zoöl)

Defn: One of the Crinoidea.

CRINOLINE Crin"o*line (krn"-ln), n. Etym: [F., fr. crin hair,L. crinis.]

1. A kind of stiff cloth, used chiefly by women, for underskirts, to expand the gown worn over it; — so called because originally made of hair.

2. A lady's skirt made of any stiff material; latterly, a hoop skirt.

CRINOSE Cri*nose" (kr-ns"), a. Etym: [L. crinis hair.]

Defn: Hairy. [R.]

CRINOSITY Cri*nos"i*ty (kr-ns"-t), n.

Defn: Hairiness. [R.]

CRINUM Cri"num (kr"nm), n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of bulbous plants, of the order Amaryllidace, cultivated as greenhouse plants on account of their beauty.

CRIOSPHINX Cri"o*sphinx` (kr"-sfnks`), n. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: A sphinx with the head of a ram.

CRIPPLE Crip"ple (krp"p'l), n. Etym: [OE. cripel, crepel, crupel, AS. crypel (akin to D. kreuple, G. kr, Dan. kr, Icel. kryppill), prop., one that can not walk, but must creep, fr. AS. cre to creep. See Creep.]

Defn: One who creeps, halts, or limps; one who has lost, or never had, the use of a limb or limbs; a lame person; hence, one who is partially disabled. I am a cripple in my limbs; but what decays are in my mind, the reader must determine. Dryden.

CRIPPLE Crip"ple (krp"p'l), a.

Defn: Lame; halting. [R.] "The cripple, tardy-gaited night." Shak.

CRIPPLE Crip"ple, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crippled (-p'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Crippling (-plng).]

1. To deprive of the use of a limb, particularly of a leg or foot; to lame. He had crippled the joints of the noble child. Sir W. Scott.

2. To deprive of strength, activity, or capability for service or use; to disable; to deprive of resources; as, to be financially crippled. More serious embarrassments . . . were crippling the energy of the settlement in the Bay. Palfrey. An incumbrance which would permanently cripple the body politic. Macaulay.

CRIPPLED Crip"pled (krp"p'ld), a.

Defn: Lamed; lame; disabled; impeded. "The crippled crone." Longfellow.

CRIPPLENESS Crip"ple*ness, n.

Defn: Lameness. [R.] Johnson.

CRIPPLER Crip"pler (-plr), n.

Defn: A wooden tool used in graining leather. Knight.

CRIPPLING Crip"pling (-plng), n.

Defn: Spars or timbers set up as a support against the side of a building.

CRIPPLY Crip"ply (-pl), a.

Defn: Lame; disabled; in a crippled condition. [R.] Mrs. Trollope.

CRISIS Cri"sis (kr"ss), n.; pl. Crises (-s. Etym: [L. crisis, Gr. Certain.]

1. The point of time when it is to be decided whether any affair or course of action must go on, or be modified or terminate; the decisive moment; the turning point. This hour's the very crisis of your fate. Dryden. The very times of crisis for the fate of the country. Brougham.

2. (Med.)

Defn: That change in a disease which indicates whether the result is to be recovery or death; sometimes, also, a striking change of symptoms attended by an outward manifestation, as by an eruption or sweat. Till some safe crisis authorize their skill. Dryden.

CRISP Crisp (krsp), a. Etym: [AS. crisp, fr. L. crispus; cf. carpere to pluck, card (wool), and E. harvest. Cf. Crape.]

1. Curling in stiff curls or ringlets; as, crisp hair.

2. Curled with the ripple of the water. [Poetic] You numphs called Naiads, of the winding brooks . . . Leave jour crisp channels. Shak.

3. Brittle; friable; in a condition to break with a short, sharp fracture; as, crisp snow. The cakes at tea ate short and crisp. Goldsmith.

4. Possessing a certain degree of firmness and freshness; in a fresh, unwilted condition. It [laurel] has been plucked nine months, and yet looks as hale and crisp as if it would last ninety years. Leigh Hunt.

5. Lively; sparking; effervescing. Your neat crisp claret. Beau & Fl.

6. Brisk; crackling; cheerful; lively. The snug, small room, and the crisp fire. Dickens.

CRISP Crisp, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crisped (krspt); p. pr. & vb. n. Crisping.] Etym: [L. crispare, fr. crispus. See Crisp. a. ]

1. To curl; to form into ringlets, as hair, or the nap of cloth; to interweave, as the branches of trees.

2. To cause to undulate irregularly, as crape or water; to wrinkle; to cause to ripple. Cf. Crimp. The lover with the myrtle sprays Adorns his crisped tresses. Drayton. Along the crisped shades and bowers. Milton. The crisped brooks, Rolling on orient pearl and sands of gold. Milton.

3. To make crisp or brittle, as in cooking. Crisping iron, an instrument by which hair or any textile fabric is crisped. — Crisping pin, the simplest form of crisping iron. Is. iii. 22.

CRISP Crisp, v. i.

Defn: To undulate or ripple. Cf. Crisp, v. t. To watch the crisping ripples on the beach. Tennuson.

CRISP Crisp, n.

Defn: That which is crisp or brittle; the state of being crisp or brittle; as, burned to a crisp; specifically, the rind of roasted pork; crackling.

CRISPATE; CRISPATED Cris"pate (krs"pt), Cris"pa*ted (-p-td), a. Etym: [L. crispatus, p. p. of crispare.]

Defn: Having a crisped appearance; irregularly curled or twisted.

CRISPATION Cris*pa"tion (krs-p"shn), n. Etym: [CF. F. crispation.]

1. The act or process of curling, or the state of being curled. Bacon.

2. A very slight convulsive or spasmodic contraction of certain muscles, external or internal. Few men can look down from a great height without creepings and crispations. O. W. Holmes.

CRISPATURE Cris"pa*ture (krs"p-tr; 135), n.

Defn: The state of being crispate.

CRISPER Crisp"er (krs"pr), n.

Defn: One who, or that which, crisps or curls; an instrument for making little curls in the nap of cloth, as in chinchilla.

CRISPIN Cris"pin (krs"pn), n.

1. A shoemaker; — jocularly so called from the patron sant of the craft.

2. A member of a union or association of shoemakers.

CRISPLY Crisp"ly (krsp"l), adv.

Defn: In a crisp manner.

CRISPNESS Crisp"ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being crisp.

CRISPY Crisp"y (-), a.

1. Formed into short, close ringlets; frizzed; crisp; as, crispy locks.

2. Crisp; brittle; as. a crispy pie crust.

CRISSAL Cris"sal (krs"sal), a. (Zoöl.)

1. Pertaining to the crissum; as, crissal feathers.

2. Having highly colored under tail coverts; as, the crissal thrasher.

CRISSCROSS Criss"cross` (krs"krs`; 115), n. Etym: [A corruption of Christcross.]

1. A mark or cross, as the signature of a person who is unable to write.

2. A child's game played on paper or on a slate, consisting of lines arranged in the form of a cross.

CRISSCROSS Criss"cross`, v. t.

Defn: To mark or cover with cross lines; as, a paper was crisscrossed with red marks.

CRISSCROSS Criss"cross` (krs"krs`;115), adv.

1. In opposite directions; in a way to cross something else; crossing one another at various angles and in various ways. Logs and tree luing crisscross in utter confusion. W. E. Boardman.

2. With opposition or hindrance; at cross purposes; contrarily; as, things go crisscross.

CRISSCROSS-ROW Criss"cross-row` (-r`), n.

Defn: See Christcross-row.

CRISSUM Cris"sum (krs"sm),, n.; pl. Crissa (-s. Etym: [NL.; cf. L. crisso to move the haunches.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: That part of a bird, or the feathers, surrounding the cloacal opening; the under tail coverts.

CRISTATE Cris"tate (krs"tt), a. Etym: [L. ctistatus, fr. crista crest.] (Bot. & Zoöl.)

Defn: Crested.

CRITERION Cri*te"ri*on (kr-t"r-n), n.; pl. Criteria (-Criterions (-. Etym: [Gr. Certain.]

Defn: A standard of judging; any approved or established rule or test, by which facts, principles opinions, and conduct are tried in forming a correct judgment respecting them. Of the diseases of the mind there is no criterion. Donne. Inferences founded on such enduring criteria. Sir G. C. Lewis.

Syn. — Standard; measure; rule.

CRITH Crith (krth), n. Etym: [Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: The unit for estimating the weight of a

CRITHOMANCY Crith"o*man`cy, n. Etym: [Gr. -mancy: cf. F. crithomancie.]

Defn: A kind of divination by means of the dough of the cakes offered in the ancient sacrifices, and the meal strewed over the victims.

CRITIC Crit"ic (krt"k), n. Etym: [L. criticus, Gr. able to discuss, from Certain, and cf. Critique.]

1. One skilled in judging of the merits of literary or artistic works; a connoisseur; an adept; hence, one who examines literary or artistic works, etc., and passes judgment upon them; a reviewer. The opininon of the most skillful critics was, that nothing finer [than Goldsmith's "Traveler"] had appeared in verse since the fourth book of the "Dunciad." Macaulay.

2. One who passes a rigorous or captious judgment; one who censures or finds fault; a harsh examiner or judge; a caviler; a carper. When an author has many beauties consistent with virtue, piety, and truth, let not little critics exalt themselves, and shower down their ill nature. I. Watts. You know who the critics are the men who have failed in literature and art. Beaconsfield.

3. The art of criticism. [Obs.] Locke.

4. An act of criticism; a critique. [Obs.] And make each day a critic on the last. Pope.

CRITIC Crit"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to critics or criticism; critical. [Obs.] "Critic learning." Pope.

CRITIC Crit"ic, v. i. Etym: [Cf. F. critiquer.]

Defn: To criticise; to play the critic. [Obs.] Nay, if you begin to critic once, we shall never have done. A. Brewer.

CRITICAL Crit"ic*al (krt"-kal), a. Etym: [See Critic, n., Crisis.]

1. Qualified to criticise, or pass judgment upon, literary or artistic productions. It is submitted to the judgment of more critical ears to direct and determine what is graceful and what is not. Holder.

2. Pertaining to criticism or the critic's art; of the nature of a criticism; accurate; as, critical knowledge; a critical dissertation.

3. Inclined to make nice distinctions, or to exercise careful judgment and selection; exact; nicely judicious. Virgil was so critical in the rites of religion. that he would never have brought in such prayers as these, if they had not been agreeable to the Roman customs. Bp. Stillingfleet.

4. Inclined to criticise or find fault; fastidious; captious; censorious; exacting. O gentle lady, do not put me to 't, For I am nothing, if not critical. Shak.

5. Characterized by thoroughness and a reference to principles, as becomes a critic; as, a critical analysis of a subject.

6. Etym: [See Crisis.]

Defn: Pertaining to, or indicating, a crisis, turning point, or specially important juncture; important as regards consequences; hence, of doubtful issue; attended with risk; dangerous; as, the critical stage of a fever; a critical situation. Our circumstances are indeed critical. Burke. The small moment, the exact point, the critical minute, on which every good work so much depends. South. Critical angle (Optics), that angle of incidence of a luminous ray at which it is wholly reflected, and no portion of it transmitted. The sine of this angle is the reciprocal of the refractive index of the medium. — Critical philosophy, the metaphysical system of Kant; — so called from his most important work, the "Critique of Pure Reason." - - Critical point (Physics), a certain temperature, different for different gases, but always the same for each gas, regarded as the limit above which no amount of pressure can produce condensation to a liquid.

CRITICALLY Crit"ic*al*ly, adv.

1. In a critical manner; with nice discernment; accurately; exactly. Critically to discern good writers from bad. Dryden.

2. At a crisis; at a critical time; in a situation. place, or condition of decisive consequence; as, a fortification critically situated. Coming critically the night before the session. Bp. Burnet.

CRITICALNESS Crit"ic*al*ness, n.

1. The state or quality of being critical, or of occurring at a critical time.

2. Accuracy in examination or decision; exactness.

CRITICASTER Crit"ic*as`ter (krt"k-s`tr), n.

Defn: A contemptible or vicious critic. The rancorous and reptile crew of poeticules, who decompose into criticasters. Swinburne.

CRITICISABLE Crit"i*cis`a*ble (krt"-sz`-b'l), a.

Defn: Capable of being criticised.

CRITICISE Crit"i*cise (krt"-sz), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Criticised (-szd); p. pr. & vb. n. Criticising.] Etym: [Written also, more analogically, but less commonly, criticize.] Etym: [Cf. G. kritisiren. See Critic.]

1. To examine and judge as a critic; to pass literary or artistic judgment upon; as, to criticise an author; to criticise a picture.

2. To express one's views as to the merit or demerit of; esp., to animadvert upon; to find fault with; as, to criticise conduct. Blackwood's Mag.

CRITICISE Crit"i*cise, v. i.

1. To act as a critic; to pass literary or artistic judgment; to play the critic; — formerly used with on or upon. Several of these ladies, indeed, criticised upon the form of the association. Addison.

2. To discuss the merits or demerits of a thing or person; esp., to find fault. Cavil you may, but never criticise. Pope.

CRITICISER Crit"i*ci`ser (-s`zr), n.

Defn: One who criticises; a critic.

CRITICISM Crit"i*cism (krt"-sz'm), n.

1. The rules and principles which regulate the practice of the critic; the art of judging with knowledge and propriety of the beauties and faults of a literary performance, or of a production in the fine arts; as, dramatic criticism. The elements ofcriticism depend on the two principles of Beauty and Truth, one of which is the final end or object of study in every one of its pursuits: Beauty, in letters and the arts; Truth, in history and sciences. Brande & C. By criticism, as it was first instituted by Aristotle, was meant a standard of judging well. Dryden.

2. The act of criticising; a critical judgment passed or expressed; a critical observation or detailed examination and review; a critique; animadversion; censure. About the plan of "Rasselas" little was said by the critics; and yet the faults of the plan might seem to invite severe criticism. Macaulay.

CRITIQUE Cri*tique" (kr-tk"), n. Etym: [F. critique, f., fr. Gr. Critic.]

1. The art of criticism. [Written also critic.] [R.]

2. A critical examination or estimate of a work of literature or art; a critical dissertation or essay; a careful and through analysis of any subject; a criticism; as, Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason." I should as soon expect to see a critique on the poesy of a ring as on the inscription of a medal. Addison.

3. A critic; one who criticises. [Obs.] A question among critiques in the ages to come. Bp. Lincoln.

CRITIQUE Cri*tique", v. t. Etym: [Cf. Critic, v.]

Defn: To criticise or pass judgment upon. [Obs.] Pope.

CRIZZEL Criz"zel (krz"z'l), n. Etym: [Cf. grizzle darkish gray, or G. griselig gravelly, granular, speckled.]

Defn: A kind of roughness on the surface of glass, which clouds its transparency. [Written also crizzeling and crizzle.]

CROAK Croak (krk), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Croaked. (krp. pr. & vb. n. Croaking.] Etym: [From the primitive of AS. cracettan to croak as a raven; akin to G. kr to croak, and to E. creak, crake.]

1. To make a low, hoarse noise in the throat, as a frog, a raven, or a crow; hence, to make any hoarse, dismal sound. Loud thunder to its bottom shook the bog, And the hoarse nation croaked. Pope.

2. To complain; especially, to grumble; to forebode evil; to utter complaints or forebodings habitually. Marat . . . croaks with reasonableness. Carlyle.

CROAK Croak, v. t.

Defn: To utter in a low, hoarse voice; to announce by croaking; to forebode; as, to croak disaster. The raven himself is hoarse, That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan. Shak. Two ravens now began to croak Their nuptial song. Wordsworth.

CROAK Croak, n.

Defn: The coarse, harsh sound uttered by a frog or a raven, or a like sound.

CROAKER Croak"er (-r), n.

1. One who croaks, murmurs, grumbles, or complains unreasonably; one who habitually forebodes evil.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) A small American fish (Micropogon undulatus), of the Atlantic coast. (a) An American fresh-water fish (Aplodinotus grunniens); — called also drum. (c) The surf fish of California.

Note: When caught these fishes make a croaking sound; whence the name, which is often corrupted into crocus.

CROAT Cro"at (kr"t), n. Etym: [Cf. Cravat.]

1. A native of Croatia, in Austria; esp., one of the native Slavic race.

2. An irregular soldier, generally from Croatia.

CROATIAN Cro*a"tian (kr-"shan), a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Croatia. — n.

Defn: A Croat.

CROCEIN Cro"ce*in (kr"s-n), n. Etym: [See Croceous.] (Chem.)

Defn: A name given to any one of several yellow or scarlet dyestuffs of artificial production and complex structure. In general they are diazo and sulphonic acid derivatives of benzene and naphthol.

CROCEOUS Cro"ceous (kr"shs), a. Etym: [L. croceus, fr. crocus saffron. See Crocus.]

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or like, saffron; deep reddish yellow. [R.]

CROCETIN Cro"ce*tin (kr"s-tn), n. (Chem.)

Defn: A dyestuff, obtained from the Chinese croicin, which produces a brilliant yellow.

CROCHE Croche (krch), n. Etym: [OF. croche, equiv. to F. crochet, croc, hook. See Crotchet, Crook.]

Defn: A little bud or knob at the top of a deer's antler.

CROCHET Cro*chet" (kr-sh"), n. Etym: [F. crochet small hook. See Croche.]

Defn: A kind of knitting done by means of a hooked needle, with worsted, silk, or cotton; crochet work. Commonly used adjectively. Crochet hook, Crochet needle, a small hook, or a hooked needle (often of bone), used in crochet work.

CROCHET Cro*chet", v. t. & i. [imp. & p.p. Crocheted (shd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Crocheting (-sh"ng).]

Defn: To knit with a crochet needle or hook; as, to rochett a shawl.

CROCIARY Cro"ci*a*ry (kr"sh—r), n. Etym: [See Crosier.] (Eccl.)

Defn: One who carries the cross before an archbishop. [Obs.]

CROCIDOLITE Cro*cid"o*lite (kr-sd"-lt), n. Etym: [Gr. kroky`s nap on cloth + - lite.] (Min.)

Defn: A mineral occuring in silky fibers of a lavender blue color. It is related to hornblende and is essentially a silicate of iron and soda; — called also blue asbestus. A silicified form, in which the fibers penetrating quartz are changed to oxide of iron, is the yellow brown tiger-eye of the jewelers.

CROCIN Cro"cin (kr"sn), n. Etym: [Gr. (Chem.) (a) The coloring matter of Chinese yellow pods, the fruit of Gardenia grandiflora. Watts. (b) A red powder (called also polychroite), which is made from the saffron (Crocus sativus). See Polychroite.

CROCK Crock (krk), n. Etym: [Cf. W. croeg cover, Scot. crochit covered.]

Defn: The loose black particles collected from combustion, as on pots and kettles, or in a chimney; soot; smut; also, coloring matter which rubs off from cloth.

CROCK Crock, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Crocked (krkt); p. pr. & vb. n. Crocking.]

Defn: To soil by contact, as with soot, or with the coloring matter of badly dyed cloth.

CROCK Crock, v. i.

Defn: To give off crock or smut.

CROCK Crock, n.

Defn: A low stool. "I . . . seated her upon a little crock." Tatler.

CROCK Crock (krk), n. Etym: [AS. croc, croca, crog, croh; akin to D. kruik, G. krug, Icel. krukka, Dan. krukke, Sw. kruka; but cf. W. crwc bucket, pail, crochan pot, cregen earthen vessel, jar. Cf. Cruet.]

Defn: Any piece of crockery, especially of coarse earthenware; an earthen pot or pitcher. Like foolish flies about an honey crock. Spenser.

CROCK Crock, v. t.

Defn: To lay up in a crock; as, to crock butter. Halliwell.

CROCKER Crock"er (-r), n.

Defn: A potter. [Obs.] Wyclif.

CROCKERY Crock"er*y ( krk"r-), n. Etym: [From Crock an earthen vessel.]

Defn: Earthenware; vessels formed of baked clay, especially the coarser kinds.

CROCKET Crock"et (krk"t), n. Etym: [OF. croquet, F. crochet, dim. of croc hook. See Crook, and cf. Crotchet.]

1. (Arch.)

Defn: An ornament often resembling curved and bent foliage, projecting from the sloping edge of a gable, spire, etc.

2. A croche, or knob, on the top of a stag's antler. The antlers and the crockets. W. Black.

CROCKETED Crock"et*ed, a. (Arch.)

Defn: Ornamented with crockets.

CROCKETING Crock"et*ing, n. (Arch.)

Defn: Ornamentation with crockets. Ruskin.

CROCKY Crock"y (-), a. Etym: [From Crock soot.]

Defn: Smutty.

CROCODILE Croc"o*dile (krk"-dl; 277), n. Etym: [L. crocodilus, Gr. crocodile. Cf. Cookatrice.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large reptile of the genus Crocodilus, of several species. They grow to the length of sixteen or eighteen feet, and inhabit the large rivers of Africa, Asia, and America. The eggs, laid in the sand, are hatched by the sun's heat. The best known species is that of the Nile (C. vulgaris, or C. Niloticus). The Florida crocodile (C. Americanus) is much less common than the alligator and has longer jaws. The name is also sometimes applied to the species of other related genera, as the gavial and the alligator.

2. (Logic)

Defn: A fallacious dilemma, mythically supposed to have been first used by a crocodile. Crocodile bird (Zoöl.), an African plover (Pluvianus ægypticus) which alights upon the crocodile and devours its insect parasites, even entering its open mouth (according to reliable writers) in pursuit of files, etc.; — called also Nile bird. It is the trochilos of ancient writers. — Crocodile tears, false or affected tears; hypocritical sorrow; — derived from the fiction of old travelers, that crocodiles shed tears over their prey.

CROCODILIA Croc`o*dil"i*a (-dl"-), n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. L. crocodilus crocodile.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An order of reptiles including the crocodiles, gavials, alligators, and many extinct kinds.

CROCODILIAN Croc`o*dil"i*an (krk`-dl"-an), a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Like, or pertaining to, the crocodile; characteristic of the crocodile. — n.

Defn: One of the Crocodilia.

CROCODILITY Croc`o*dil"i*ty (—t), n. (Logic)

Defn: A caption or sophistical mode of arguing. [R.]

CROCOISITE Cro"cois*ite (kr"kois-t), n. Etym: [Cf. F. croco.] (Min.)

Defn: Same as Crocoite.

CROCOITE Cro"co*ite (kr"k-t), n. Etym: [Gr. (Min.)

Defn: Lead chromate occuring in crystals of a bright hyacinth red color; — called also red lead ore.

CROCONATE Cro"con*ate (kr"kn-t), n. (Chem.)

Defn: A salt formed by the union of croconic acid with a base.

CROCONIC Cro*con"ic (kr-kn"k), a. Etym: [Gr.

1. Of, pertaining to, or resembling saffron; having the color of saffron; as, croconic acid.

2. Pertaining to, or derived from, croconic acid.

Croconic acid (Chem.), a yellow crystalline substance, C5O3(OH)2, obtained from potassium carboxide, rhodizonic acid, and various phenol and quinone derivatives of benzene, and forming yellow or orange colored salts.

CROCOSE Cro"cose (kr"ks), n. Etym: [Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: A white crystalline sugar, metameric with glucose, obtained from the coloring matter of saffron. [Written also crokose.]

CROCUS Cro"cus (kr"ks), n. Etym: [L., saffron, fr. Gr. kark, Ar. kurkum, Skr. ku.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of iridaceous plants, with pretty blossoms rising separately from the bulb or corm. C. vernus is one of the earliest of spring-blooming flowers; C. sativus produces the saffron, and blossoms in the autumn.

2. (Chem.)

Defn: A deep yellow powder; the oxide of some metal calcined to a red or deep yellow color; esp., the oxide of iron (Crocus of Mars or colcothar) thus produced from salts of irron, and used as a polishing powder. Crocus of Venus (Old Chem.), oxide of copper.

CROESUS Croe"sus (kr"ss), n. Etym: [L., fr. G.

Defn: A king of Lydia who flourished in the 6th century b. c., and was renowned for his vast wealth; hence, a common appellation for a very rich man; as, he is veritable Croesus.

CROFT Croft (krft; 115), n. Etym: [AS. croft; akin to D. kroft hillock; cf. Gael. croit hump, croft.]

Defn: A small, inclosed field, adjoining a house; a small farm. A few small crofts of stone-encumbered ground. Wordsworth.

CROFTER Croft"er (-r), n.

Defn: One who rents and tills a small farm or helding; as, the crofters of Scotland.

CROFTING Croft"ing, n.

1. Croftland. [Scot.] Jamieson.

2. (Textile Manuf.)

Defn: Exposing linen to the sun, on the grass, in the process of bleaching.

CROFTLAND Croft"land (-lnd), n.

Defn: Land of superior quality, on which successive crops are raised. [Scot.] Jamieson.

CROFTON SYSTEM Crof"ton sys"tem. [After Sir Walter Crofton, Irish penologist.] (Penology)

Defn: A system of prison discipline employing for consecutive periods cellular confinement, associated imprisonment under the mark system, restraint intermediate between imprisonment and freedom, and liberation on ticket of leave.

CROIS Crois (krois). n. Etym: [OF.]

Defn: See Cross, n. [Obs.]

CROISADE; CROISADO Croi*sade" (kroi-sd"), Croi*sa"do (-s"d), n. Etym: [F. criosade. See Crusade.]

Defn: A holy war; a crusade. [Obs.] Bacon.

CROISE Croise (krois), n. Etym: [F. crois crusader, fr. OF. crois, F. croix, cross. See Cross.]

1. A pilgrim bearing or wearing a cross. [Obs.]

2. A crusader. [Obs.] The conquesta of the croises extending over Palestine. Burke.

CROISSANTE Crois`san`te" (krw`sn`t"), a. Etym: [F. croissant, adj. & n., crescent.] (Her.)

Defn: Terminated with crescent; — said of a cross the ends of which are so terminated.

CROKER Cro"ker (kr"kr), n. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: A cultivator of saffron; a dealer in saffron. [Obs.] Holinshed.

CROMA Cro"ma (kr"m), n. Etym: [It.] (Mus.)

Defn: A quaver. [Obs.]

CROMLECH Crom"lech (krm"l*k), n. Etym: [W. cromlech; crom bending or bent, concave + llech a flat stone; akin to Ir. cromleac.] (Arch

Defn: A monument of rough stones composed of one or more large ones supported in a horizontal position upon others. They are found chiefly in countris inhabited by the ancient Celts, and are of a period anterior to the introduction of Christianity into these countries.

CROMORNA Cro*mor"na (kr-mr"n), n. Etym: [F. cromorne (cf. It. cromorno0, fr. G. krummhorn crooked horn, cornet, an organ pipe turned like a trumpet; krumm crooked + horn horn.] (Mus.)

Defn: A certain reed stop in the organ, of a quality of tone resembling that of the oboe. [Corruptly written cromona.]

CRONE Crone (krn), n. Etym: [OD. kronie, karonie, an old sheep, OF. carogne, F. charogne, carrion (also F. carogne illnatured woman.). See Carrion, and Crony.]

1. An old ewe. [Obs.] Tusser.

2. An old woman; — usually in contempt. But still the crone was constant to her note. Dryden.

3. An old man; especially, a man who talks and acts like an old woman. [R.] The old crone [a negro man] lived in a hovel, . . . which his master had given him. W. Irving. A few old battered crones of office. Beaconsfield.

CRONEL Cro"nel (kr"nl), n. Etym: [Cf. Coronel spearhead, Crown.]

Defn: The iron head of a tilting spear.

CRONET Cro"net (kr"nt), n. Etym: [Cf. Coronet, Crownet.]

Defn: The coronet of a horse.

CRONIAN Cro"ni*an (kr"n-an), a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Saturnian; — applied to the North Polar Sea. [R.] Milton.

CRONSTEDTITE Cron"stedt*ite (krn"stt-t), n. (Min.)

Defn: A mineral consisting principally of silicate of iron, and crystallizing in hexagonal prisms with perfect basal cleavage; — so named from the Swedish mineralogist Cronstedt.

CRONY Cro"ny (kr"n), n.; pl. Cronies (-n. Etym: [Orig., an old woman. See Crone.]

1. A crone. [Obs.] "Marry not an old crony." Burton.

2. An intimate companion; a familiar frend. [Colloq.] He soon found his former cronies, though all rather the worse for the wear and tear of time. W. Irving.

CROODLE Croo"dle (kr"d'l), v. i. Etym: [Cf. Cruddle, Crudle.]

1. To cower or cuddle together, as from fear or cold; to lie close and snug together, as pigs in straw. [Prov. Eng.] Wright. Forby. A dove to fly home her nest and croodle there. C. Kingsley.

2. To fawn or coax. [Obs.]

3. To coo. [Scot.]

CROOK Crook (krk), n. Etym: [OE. crok; akin to Icel. kr hook,bend, SW. krok, Dan. krog, OD. krooke; or cf. Gael. crecan crook, hook, W. crwca crooked. Cf. Crosier, Crotchet, Crutch, Encroach.]

1. A bend, turn, or curve; curvature; flexure. Through lanes, and crooks, and darkness. Phaer.

2. Any implement having a bent or crooked end. Especially: (a) The staff used by a shepherd, the hook of which serves to hold a runaway sheep. (b) A bishop's staff of office. Cf. Pastoral stafu. He left his crook, he left his flocks. Prior.

3. A pothook. "As black as the crook." Sir W. Scott.

4. An artifice; trick; tricky device; subterfuge. For all yuor brags, hooks, and crooks. Cranmer.

5. (Mus.)

Defn: A small tube, usually curved, applied to a trumpet, horn, etc., to change its pitch or key.

6. A person given to fraudulent practices; an accomplice of thieves, forgers, etc. [Cant, U.S.] By hook or by crook, in some way or other; by fair means or foul.

CROOK Crook (krk), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crooked (krkt); p. pr. & vb. n. Crooking.] Etym: [OE. croken; cf. Sw. kr, Dan. kr. See Crook, n.]

1. To turn from a straight line; to bend; to curve. Crook the pregnant hinges of the knee. Shak.

2. To turn from the path of rectitude; to pervert; to misapply; to twist. [Archaic] There is no one thing that crooks youth more than such unlawfull games. Ascham. What soever affairs pass such a man's hands, he crooketh them to his own ends. Bacon.

CROOK Crook, v. i.

Defn: To bend; to curve; to wind; to have a curvature. " The port . . . crooketh like a bow." Phaer. Their shoes and pattens are snouted, and piked more than a finger long, crooking upwards. Camden.

CROOKBACK Crook"back` (krk"bk), n.

Defn: A crooked back; one who has a crooked or deformed back; a hunchback.

CROOKBACK Crook"back`, a.

Defn: Hunched. Shak. `

CROOKBILL Crook"bill` ( -bl`), n. (Zoöl)

Defn: A New Zealand plover (Anarhynchus frontalis), remarkable for having the end of the beak abruptly bent to the right.

CROOKED Crook"ed (krk"d), a.

1. Characterized by a crook or curve; not straight; turning; bent; twisted; deformed. "Crooked paths." Locke. he is deformed, crooked, old, and sere. Shak.

2. Not straightforward; deviating from rectitude; distorted from the right. They are a perverse and crooked generation. Deut. xxxii. 5.

3. False; dishonest; fraudulent; as, crooked dealings. Crooked whisky, whisky on wich the paiment of duty has been fraudulently evaded. [Slang, U.S.] Barlett.

CROOKEDLY Crook"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: In a curved or crooked manner; in a perverse or untoward manner.

CROOKEDNESS Crook"ed*ness, n.

Defn: The condition or quality of being crooked; hence, deformity of body or of mind; deviation from moral rectitude; perverseness.

CROOKEN Crook"en (krk"'n), v. t.

Defn: To make crooked. [Obs.]

CROOKES SPACE Crookes space (krooks). [After Sir William Crookes, English chemist, who first described it.] (Physics)

Defn: The dark space within the negative-pole glow at the cathode of a vacuum tube, observed only when the pressure is low enough to give a striated discharge; — called also Crookes layer.

CROOKES TUBE Crookes" tube` (krks" tb`). (Phys.)

Defn: A vacuum tube in which the exhaustion is carried to a very high degree, with the production of a distinct class of effects; — so called from W. Crookes who introduced it.

CROOKNECK Crook"neck`, n.

Defn: Either of two varieties of squash, distinguished by their tapering, recurved necks. The summer crookneck is botanically a variety of the pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) and matures early in the season. It is pale yellow in color, with warty excrescences. The winter crookneck belongs to a distinct species (C. moschata) and is smooth and often striped. [U. S.]

CROON Croon (krn), v. i. Etym: [OE. croinen, cf. D. kreunen to moan.

1. To make a continuous hollow moan, as cattle do when in pain. [Scot.] Jamieson.

2. To hum or sing in a low tone; to murmur softly. Here an old grandmother was crooning over a sick child, and rocking it to and fro. Dickens.

CROON Croon, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crooned (krnd); p. pr. & vb. n. Crooning.]

1. To sing in a low tone, as if to one's self; to hum. Hearing such stanzas crooned in her praise. C. Bront

2. To soothe by singing softly. The fragment of the childish hymn with which he sung and crooned himself asleep. Dickens.

CROON Croon, n.

1. A low, continued moan; a murmur.

2. A low singing; a plain, artless melody.

CROP Crop (krp), n. Etym: [OE. crop, croppe, craw, top of a plant, harvest, AS. crop, cropp, craw, top, bunch, ear of corn; akin to D. krop craw, G. kropf, Icel. kroppr hump or bunch on the body, body; but cf. also W. cropa, croppa, crop or craw of a bird, Ir. & Gael. sgroban. Cf. Croup, Crupper, Croup.]

1. The pouchlike enlargement of the gullet of birds, serving as a receptacle for food; the craw.

2. The top, end, or highest part of anything, especially of a plant or tree. [Obs.] "Crop and root." Chaucer.

3. That which is cropped, cut, or gathered from a single felld, or of a single kind of grain or fruit, or in a single season; especially, the product of what is planted in the earth; fruit; harvest. Lab'ring the soil, and reaping plenteous crop, Corn, wine, and oil. Milton.

4. Grain or other product of the field while standing.

5. Anything cut off or gathered. Guiltless of steel, and from the razor free, It falls a plenteous crop reserved for thee. Dryden.

6. Hair cut close or short, or the act or style of so cutting; as, a convict's crop.

7. (Arch.)

Defn: A projecting ornament in carved stone. Specifically, a finial. [Obs.]

8. (Mining.) (a) Tin ore prepared for smelting. (b) Outcrop of a vein or seam at the surface. Knight.

9. A riding whip with a loop instead of a lash. Neck and crop, altogether; roughly and at once. [Colloq.]

CROP Crop, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cropped (krpt); p. pr. & vb. n. Cropping.]

1. To cut off the tops or tips of; to bite or pull off; to browse; to pluck; to mow; to reap. I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one. Ezek. xvii. 22.

2. Fig.: To cut off, as if in harvest. Death . . . .crops the growing boys. Creech.

3. To cause to bear a crop; as, to crop a field.

CROP Crop, v. i.

Defn: To yield harvest. To crop out. (a) (Geol.) To appear above the surface, as a seam or vein, or inclined bed, as of coal. (b) To come to light; to be manifest; to appear; as, the peculiarities of an author crop out. — To crop up, to sprout; to spring up. "Cares crop up in villas." Beaconsfield.

CROP-EAR Crop"-ear` (krp"r`), n.

Defn: A person or animal whose ears are cropped.

CROP-EARED Crop"-eared` (krp"rd`), a.

Defn: Having the ears cropped.

CROPFUL Crop"ful (-fl), a.

Defn: Having a full crop or belly; satiated. Milton.

CROPPER Crop"per (krp"pr), n.

1. One that crops.

2. A variety of pigeon with a large crop; a pouter.

3. (Mech.)

Defn: A machine for cropping, as for shearing off bolts or rod iron, or for facing cloth.

4. A fall on one's head when riding at full speed, as in hunting; hence, a sudden failure or collapse. [Slang.]

CROPSICK Crop"sick` (kr"sk`), a.

Defn: Sick from excess in eating or drinking. [Obs.] "Cropsick drunkards." Tate. — Crop"sick`ness, n. [Obs.] Whitlock.

CROP-TAILED Crop"-tailed` (-tld`), a.

Defn: Having the tail cropped.

CROQUANTE Cro`quante", n. [F.]

Defn: A brittle cake or other crisp pastry.

CROQUET Cro*quet" (kr-k"), n. Etym: [From French; cf. Walloon croque blow, fillip. F. croquet a crisp biscuit, croquer to crunch, fr. croc a crackling sound, of imitative origin. Croquet then properly meant a smart tap on the ball.]

1. An open-air game in which two or more players endeavor to drive wooden balls, by means of mallets, through a series of hoops or arches set in the ground according to some pattern.

2. The act of croqueting.

CROQUET Cro*quet", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Croqueted (-kd); p. pr. & vb. n. Croqueting (-k"ng).]

Defn: In the game of croquet, to drive away an opponent's ball, after putting one's own in contact with it, by striking one's own ball with the mallet.

CROQUETTE Cro*quette", n. Etym: [F., fr. croquer to crunch.] (Cookery)

Defn: A ball of minced meat, fowl, rice, or other ingredients, highly seasoned, and fried.

CRORE Crore (krr), n. Etym: [Hind. karor, Skr. koTi.]

Defn: Ten millions; as, a crore of rupees (which is nearly $5,000,000). [East Indies] Malcolm.

CROSIER Cro"sier (kr"zhr), n. Etym: [OE. rocer, croser, croyser, fr. croce crosier, OF. croce, croche, F. crosse, fr. LL. crocea, crocia, from the same German or Celtic sourse as F. croc hook; akin to E. crook.]

Defn: The pastoral staff of a bishop (also of an archbishop, being the symbol of his office as a shepherd of the flock of God.

Note: The true shape of the crosier was with a hooked or curved top; the archbishop's staff alone bore a cross instead of a crook, and was of exceptional, not of regular form. Skeat.

CROSIERED Cro"siered (-zhrd), a.

Defn: Bearing a crosier.

CROSLET Cros"let (krs"lt; 115), n.

Defn: See Crosslet.

CROSS Cross (krs; 115), n. Etym: [OE. crois, croys, cros; the former fr. OF. crois, croiz, F. croix, fr. L. crux; the second is perh. directly fr. Prov. cros, crotz. fr. the same L. crux; cf. Icel. kross. Cf. Crucial, Crusade, Cruise, Crux.]

1. A gibbet, cosisting of two pieces of timber placed transversely upon one another, in various forms, as a T, or +, with the horizontal piece below the upper end of the upright, or as an X. It was anciently used in the execution of criminals. Nailed to the cross By his own nation. Milton.

2. The sign or mark of the cross, made with the finger, or in ink, etc., or actually represented in some material; the symbol of Christ's death; the ensign and chosen symbol of Christianity, of a Christian people, and of Christendom. The custom of making the sign of the cross with the hand or finger, as a means of conferring blessing or preserving from evil, is very old. Schaff-Herzog Encyc. Before the cross has waned the crescent's ray. Sir W. Scott. Tis where the cross is preached. Cowper.

3. Affiction regarded as a test of patience or virtue; trial; disappointment; opposition; misfortune. Heaven prepares a good man with crosses. B. Jonson.

4. A piece of money stamped with the figure of a cross, also, that side of such a piece on which the cross is stamped; hence, money in general. I should bear no cross if I did bear you; for I think you have no money in your purse. Shak.

5. An appendage or ornament or anything in the form of a cross; a badge or ornamental device of the general shape of a cross; hence, such an ornament, even when varying considerably from that form; thus, the Cross of the British Order of St. George and St. Michael consist of a central medallion with seven arms radiating from it.

6. (Arch.)

Defn: A monument in the form of a cross, or surmounted bu a cross, set up in a public place; as, a market cross; a boundary cross; Charing Cross in London. Dun-Edin's Cross, a pillared stone, Rose on a turret octagon. Sir W. Scott.

7. (Her.)

Defn: A common heraldic bearing, of which there are many varieties. See the Illustration, above.

8. The crosslike mark or symbol used instead of a signature by those unable to write. Five Kentish abbesses . . . .subscribed their names and crosses. Fuller.

9. Church lands. [Ireland] [Obs.] Sir J. Davies.

10. A line drawn across or through another line.

11. Hence: A mixing of breeds or stock, especially in cattle breeding; or the product of such intermixture; a hybrid of any kind. Toning down the ancient Viking into a sort of a cross between Paul Jones and Jeremy Diddler. Lord Dufferin.

12. (Surveying)

Defn: An instrument for laying of offsets perpendicular to the main course.

13. (Mech.)

Defn: A pipe-fitting with four branches the axes of which usually form's right angle. Cross and pile, a game with money, at which it is put to chance whether a coin shall fall with that side up which bears the cross, or the other, which is called pile, or reverse; the game called heads or tails. — Cross bottony or bottoné. See under Bottony. — Cross estoilé (Her.). a cross, each of whose arms is pointed like the ray of a star; that is, a star having four long points only. — Cross of Calvary. See Calvary, 3. — Southern cross. (Astron.) See under Southern. — To do a thing on the cross, to act dishonestly; — opposed to acting on the square. [Slang] — To take up the cross, to bear troubles and afflictions with patience from love to Christ.

CROSS Cross (krs), a.

1. Not parallel; lying or falling athwart; transverse; oblique; intersecting. The cross refraction of the second prism. Sir I. Newton.

2. Not accordant with what is wished or expected; interrupting; adverse; contrary; thwarting; perverse. "A cross fortune." Jer. Taylor. The cross and unlucky issue of my design. Glanvill. The article of the resurrection seems to lie marvelously cross to the common experience of mankind. South. We are both love's captives, but with fates so cross, One must be happy by the other's loss. Dryden.

3. Characterized by, or in a state of, peevishness, fretfullness, or ill humor; as, a cross man or woman. He had received a cross answer from his mistress. Jer. Taylor.

4. Made in an opposite direction, or an inverse relation; mutually inverse; interchanged; as, cross interrogatories; cross marriages, as when a brother and sister marry persons standing in the same relation to each other. Cross action (Law), an action brought by a party who is sued against the person who has sued him, upon the same subject matter, as upon the same contract. Burrill. — Cross aisle (Arch.), a transept; the lateral divisions of a cruciform church. — Cross axie. (a) (Mach.) A shaft, windlass, or roller, worked by levers at opposite ends, as in the copperplate printing press. (b) A driving axle. with cranks set at an angle of 90º with each other. — Cross bedding (Geol.), oblique lamination of horizontal beds, — Cross bill. See in the Vocabulary. — Cross bitt. Same as Crosspiece. — Cross bond, a form of bricklaying, in which the joints of one stretcher course come midway between those of the stretcher courses above and below, a course of headers and stretchers intervening. See Bond, n., 8. — Cross breed. See in the Vocabulary. — Cross breeding. See under Breeding. — Cross buttock, a particular throw in wrestling; hence, an unexpected defeat or repulse. Smollet. — Cross country, across the country; not by the road. "The cross- country ride." Cowper. — Cross fertilization, the fertilization of the female products of one physiological individual by the male products of another, — as the fertilization of the ovules of one plant by pollen from another. See Fertilization. — Cross file, a double convex file, used in dressing out the arms or crosses of fine wheells. — Cross fire (Mil.), lines of fire, from two or more points or places, crossing each other. — Cross forked. (Her.) See under Forked. — Cross frog. See under Frog. — Cross furrow, a furrow or trench cut across other furrows to receive the water running in them and conduct it to the side of the field. — Cross handle, a handle attached transversely to the axis of a tool, as in the augur. Knight. — Cross lode (Mining), a vein intersecting the true or principal lode. — Cross purpose. See Cross-purpose, in the Vocabulary. — Cross reference, a reference made from one part of a book or register to another part, where the same or an allied subject is treated of. — Cross sea (Naut.), a chopping sea, in which the waves run in contrary directions. — Cross stroke, a line or stroke across something, as across the letter t. — Cross wind, a side wind; an unfavorable wind. — Cross wires, fine wires made to traverse the field of view in a telescope, and moved by a screw with a graduated head, used for delicate astronomical observations; spider lines. Fixed cross wires are also used in microscopes, etc.

Syn. — Fretful; peevish. See Fretful.

CROSS Cross, prep.

Defn: Athwart; across. [Archaic or Colloq.] A fox was taking a walk one night cross a village. L'Estrange. To go cross lots, to go across the fields; totake a short cut. [Colloq.]

CROSS Cross, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crossed (krst; 115); p. pr. & vb. n. Crossing.]

1. To put across or athwart; to cause to intersect; as, to cross the arms.

2. To lay or draw something, as a line, across; as, to cross the letter t.

3. To pass from one side to the other of; to pass or move over; to traverse; as, to cross a stream. A hunted hare . . . crosses and confounds her former track. I. Watts.

4. To pass, as objects going in an opposite direction at the same time. "Your kind letter crossed mine." J. D. Forbes.

5. To run counter to; to thwart; to obstruct; to hinder; to clash or interfere with. In each thing give him way; cross him in nothing. Shak. An oyster may be crossed onlove. Sheridan.

6. To interfere and cut off; to debar. [Obs.] To cross me from the golden time I look for. Shak.

7. To make the sign of the cross upon; — followed by the reflexive pronoun; as, he crossed himself.

8. To cancel by marking crosses on or over, or drawing a line across; to erase; — usually with out, off, or over; as, to cross out a name.

9. To cause to interbreed; — said of different stoocks or races; to mix the breed of. To cross one's path, to oppose one's plans. Macualay.

CROSS Cross, v. i.

1. To lie or be athwart.

2. To move or pass from one side to the other, or from place to place; to make a transit; as, to cross from New York to Liverpool.

3. To be inconsistent. [Obs.] Men's actions do not always cross with reason. Sir P. Sidney.

4. To interbreed, as races; to mix distinct breeds. If two individuals of distinct races cross, a third is invariably produced different from either. Coleridge.

CROSS-ARMED Cross"-armed` (krs"rmd), a.

Defn: With arms crossed.

CROSS-BANDED Cross"-band`ed (-bnd`d), a.

Defn: A term used when a narrow ribbon of veneer is inserted into the surfase of any piece of furniture, wainscoting, etc., so that the grain of it is contrary to the general surface.

CROSSBAR Cross"bar` (-br`), n.

Defn: A transverse bar or piece, as a bar across a door, or as the iron bar or stock which passes through the shank of an anchor to insure its turning fluke down. Russell. Crossbar shot, a projectile which folds into a sphere for loading, but on leaving the gun expands to a cross with a quarter ball at the end of each arm; — used in naval actions for cutting the enemy's rigging.

CROSSBARRED Cross"barred` (-brd`), a.

1. Secured by, or furnished with, crossbars. Milton.

2. Made or patterned in lines crossing each other; as, crossbarred muslin.

CROSSBEAK Cross"beak` (-bk`), n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Crossbill.

CROSSBEAM Cross"beam` (-bm`). n.

1. (Arch.)

Defn: A girder.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: A beam laid across the bitts, to which the cable is fastened when riding at anchor.

CROSS-BEARER Cross"-bear`er (-br`r), n. (R.C.Ch.)

Defn: A subdeacon who bears a cross before an archbishop or primate on solemn occasions.

CROSSBILL Cross"bill` (-bl`). (Law)

Defn: A bill brought by a defendant, in an equity or chancery suit, against the plaintiff, respecting the matter in question in that suit. Bouvier.

Note: In criminal practice, cross bills of indictment for assault, in which the prosecutor in once case is the defendant in another, may be tried together.

CROSSBILL Cross"bill`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A bird of the genus Loxia, allied to the finches. Their mandibles are strongly curved and cross each other; the crossbeak.

CROSS-BIRTH Cross"-birth` (-brth`), n. (Med.)

Defn: Any preternatural labor, in whiche the boly of the child lies across the pelvis of the mother, so that the shoulder, arm, or trunk is the part first presented at the mouth of the uterus.

CROSSBITE Cross"bite` (-bt`), n.

Defn: A deeption; a cheat. [Obs.]

CROSSBITE Cross"bite", b. t.

Defn: To deceive; to trick; to gull. [Obs.]

CROSSBONES Cross"bones` (-bnz`), n. pl.

Defn: A representation of two of the leg bones or arm bones of a skeleton, laid crosswise, often surmounted with a skull, and serving as a symbol of death. Crossbones, scythes, hourglasses, and other lugubrios emblems of mortality. Hawthorne.

CROSSBOW Cross"bow` (-b`), n. (Archery)

Defn: A weapon, used in discharging arrows, formed by placing a bow crosswise on a stock.

CROSSBOWER Cross"bow`er (-b`r), n.

Defn: A crossbowman.[Obs.]

CROSSBOWMAN Cross"bow`man (-man), n.

Defn: One who shoots with a crossbow. See Arbalest.

CROSSBRED Cross"bred` (-brd`), a. (Stock Breeding)

Defn: Produced by mixing distinct breeds; mongrel.

CROSSBREED Cross"breed` (-brd`), n.

1. A breed or an animal produced from parents of different breeds; a new variety, as of plants, combining the qualites of two parent varieties or stocks.

2. Anything partaking of the natures of two different things; a hybrid.

CROSS-BUN Cross"-bun` (-bn`), n.

Defn: A bun or cake marked with a cross, and intended to be eaten on Good Friday.

CROSS-BUTTOCK Cross"-but`tock, n. (Wrestling)

Defn: A throw in which the wrestler turns his left side to his opponent, places his left leg across both legs of his opponent, and pulls him forward over his hip; hence, an unexpected defeat or repulse.

CROSS-CROSSLET Cross`-cross"let (-krs"lt; 115), n. (Her.)

Defn: A cross having the three upper ends crossed, so as to from three small crosses.

CROSSCUT Cross"cut` (-kt`)

Defn: , v. t. To cut across or through; to intersect.

CROSSCUT Cross"cut`, n.

1. A short cut across; a path shorter than by the high road.

2. (Mining)

Defn: A level driven across the course of a vein, or across the main workings, as from one gangway to another. Crosscut saw. (a) A saw, the teeth of which are so set as to adapt it for sawing wood crosswise of the grain rather than lengthwise. (b) A saw managed by two men, one at each end, for cutting large logs crosswise.