Search the Dictionary

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.

ld 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.

r 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.

cially 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.…

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

; 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.

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.…

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

pys. To be at cross-purposes, to misunderstand or to act counter to one another without intending it; -- said of persons.

Relating to or resembling croup; especially, attended with the formation of a deposit or membrance like that found in membranous croup; as, croupous laryngitis. Croupous pneumonia, pneumonia attended with deposition of fibrinous matter in the air vesicles of the lungs; ordinary acute pneumonia.

Attended with cruetly; painful; harsh. You have seen cruel proof of this man's strength. Shak.

The regular form which a substance tends to assume in solidifying, through the inherent power of cohesive attraction. It is bounded by plane surfaces, symmetrically arranged, and each species of crystal has fixed axial ratios. See Crystallization.

The forearm; the ulna, a bone of the arm extending from elbow to wrist. [Obs.]

A hint or intimation. Give them [the servants] their cue to attend in two lines as he leaves the house. Swift.

ou strike again. Shak. They with their quills did all the hurt they could, And cuffed the tender chickens from their food. Dryden.

Devouring knives; swallowing, or pretending to swallow, knives; -- applied to persons who have swallowed, or have seemed to swallow, knives with impunity. Dunglison.

Tending to prove the same point to which other evidence has been offered; -- said of evidence.

A fortune teller; one who pretends to reveal mysteries. [Obs.] Hudibras.

One of the attendants of a prince or noble, permanently charged with the performance of this office for his master. "I was the king's cupbearer." Neh. i. 11.

Relating to, or employed in, the cure of diseases; tending to cure. Arbuthnot.