Etymologically
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crack

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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
  • 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