Etymologically
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crash

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kræʃ/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English crasschen, craschen,[2][3] probably of imitative origin, like clash, dash and smash.[4][2][5] Barnhart compares Middle English crasen “to shatter”, from Old French crasir, and cruschen, from Old French croissir, the source of crush;[2] Merriam-Webster suggests an alteration of crasen, the source of craze.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make a crashing sound: about 1390 in Barnhart;[2] to break in pieces with violence and noise: probably before 1400 in Barnhart, in the Morte Arthur,[2] perhaps before 1400 in the OED,[6] the late 14th century in Etymonline.[4]

Semantic evolution

The noun, a loud sudden noise of things falling or breaking, is from 1580,[2][6] a falling to pieces from 1718,[4] and a sudden financial collapse from 1817.[2][4][6] The aircraft sense is from 1910 (intransitive) and 1915 (transitive),[4] and a collision of vehicles from 1910.[2][4] To break into a party uninvited is from 1922,[4] crash landing from 1928,[2][4] and crashing bore by 1930.[4] The slang sense “to sleep” dates from 1943, especially from 1965,[4] the crash course by 1958,[4] and the failure of a computer program from 1973.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1390 – to make a crashing sound.[2]
  • a. 1400 – to break in pieces.[2]
  • 1580 – noun, a loud noise.[2][6]
  • 1817 – a financial collapse.[2]
  • 1910 – of aircraft and vehicles.[4][2]
  • 1922 – to gatecrash.[4]
  • 1943 – to sleep.[4]
  • 1958 – crash course.[4]
  • 1973 – a computer crash.[4]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To collide violently with something, or to cause a vehicle or aircraft to do so.
  2. To break or fall noisily to pieces; to smash.
  3. To make a sudden loud noise, or move noisily.
  4. To fail suddenly, as a market or economy.
  5. (computing) Of a computer or program, to stop working suddenly.
  6. (informal) To attend a party uninvited; to gatecrash.
  7. (slang) To sleep somewhere, especially without planning to.

Noun

  1. A violent collision, as of vehicles.
  2. A sudden loud noise of breaking or falling.
  3. A sudden collapse of a business or market.
  4. The sudden failure of a computer or program.

Adjective

  1. Done intensively to get quick results: a crash diet.

Word family

  • crasher
  • crashproof
  • crashworthy
  • precrash
  • crash-dive
  • crash-land
  • crash course
  • crash helmet

Usage notes

Unrelated is crash, a coarse linen fabric (19th century), probably from Russian krashenina “dyed linen”.[5][3]

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press