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craze

Etymology and origin of the English word craze

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kɹeɪz/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English crasen (“to shatter, crush”),[2][3][4][5][6] of Scandinavian origin,[2][3][5][6] related to Swedish and Norwegian krasa “to shatter, crush”,[3][5][6] possibly imitative.[3] Etymonline and Weekley suggest it came through Old French acraser, escraser (French écraser).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To break in pieces, to shatter (c. 1369).[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

From “to break” the verb passed to “to break down in health” (1476) and, perhaps by the image of a cracked thing, to “to derange the mind” (1496–97).[7][3][4] The sense of cracking survives in the fine network of cracks in pottery glaze (1832).[7][3][4] The noun meant a flaw or defect (1534),[7][3] then an irrational fancy or mania (1813),[7][3][4] and a short-lived popular enthusiasm, a fad (1877).[3] Crazy meant “broken down, sickly” in 1576 and “insane” from 1617.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1369 – to shatter.[7][3]
  • 1476 – to break down in health.[7]
  • 1496–97 – to derange the mind.[3]
  • 1534 – noun, a flaw or infirmity.[7][3]
  • 1813 – a mania.[7][3][4]
  • 1832 – of glaze, to become finely cracked.[7][3]
  • 1877 – a fad.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A short-lived popular fashion or enthusiasm; a fad or mania.
  2. A fine crack in a surface or glaze.

Verb

  1. To make insane or obsessed; to derange.
  2. To become insane.
  3. To produce, or to develop, a network of fine cracks in a surface or glaze.
  4. (obsolete) To break or shatter.

Word family

  • crazy
  • crash
  • crackle

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Craze.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/craze. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·