crack

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kræk/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English craken, inherited from Old English cracian (“to make a sharp noise”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *krakojan, the source also of Dutch kraken and German krachen,^[2][3] probably imitative.^[2] The noun is inherited from Middle English crak, from the verb, compare Middle Dutch crak and German Krach.^[3][2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make a sharp noise: about 1000 in Old English.^[3][2][6]

Semantic evolution

To burst or split open is from about 1300,^[2] and the noun, a split or narrow opening, from about 1450.^[3][2] To speak loudly or boastfully is from the late 14th century,^[2][4] and crack a joke by 1732.^[2] A voice cracking as a boy becomes a man is from about 1600.^[2] The adjective, first-class, as in crack troops, is from 1793.^[3] In Scotland a crack is a chat, and the Irish crack or craic, lively company, is first recorded in the 1920s.^[7][2] To have a crack at, to attempt, is from 1836,^[6] crack a smile from 1835 in American English, and get cracking by 1937.^[2] Crack cocaine, named for the cracking sound of the crystals when heated, is attested by 1985.^[2][7]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – to make a sharp noise.^[3]
• c. 1300 – to split.^[2]
• c. 1450 – noun, a split.^[3]
• 1732 – crack a joke.^[2]
• 1793 – adjective, first-class.^[3]
• 1985 – crack cocaine.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To break or cause to break without coming completely apart.
2. To break with a sudden sharp sound: crack a nut.
3. To make a sharp snapping sound: crack a whip.
4. Of the voice, to change tone suddenly.
5. To break down under pressure.
6. To solve a problem or break a code.
7. To tell a joke.

Noun

1. A narrow break or opening.
2. A sudden sharp noise.
3. (informal) An attempt: have a crack at it.
4. A strong form of cocaine.

Adjective

1. Excellent, first-class: a crack shot.

Word family

• crackable
• crackless
• crack-up
• crackback
• cracked
• cracker
• crackle
• crackpot

Related words

• crackerjack
• craic
• creak

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press