crisis

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkraɪ.sɪs/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English crisis,^[2][3] borrowed from Latin crisis,^[4][5] the Latinized form of Ancient Greek κρίσις (krísis, “a separating, decision, judgement; turning point of a disease”),^[4][5] as used by Hippocrates and Galen,^[4] from κρίνειν (krínein, “to separate, decide, judge”),^[4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *krei- (“to sieve; to discriminate”).^[4][3] The first translation of Chauliac's surgery has the Old French form crise, the second the Latin crisis, which became established.^[5] It is related to critic, critical, criterion and certain.^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The turning point in a disease, the change that leads to recovery or death: probably about 1425, in a translation of Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie,^[5][6] the early 15th century in Etymonline,^[4] and 1543 in the OED.^[7]

Semantic evolution

In astrology a conjunction of planets that determines the outcome of a disease was a crisis from 1603.^[7] The figurative sense, “a decisive point or stage in anything”, is first recorded in 1627,^[5][7] the 1620s in Etymonline.^[4] Judgement, decision, from 1621, and a criterion or sign, from 1606, are obsolete.^[7] The plural is crises.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1425 – the turning point of a disease.^[5]
• 1603 – in astrology.^[7]
• 1621 – judgement.^[7]
• 1627 – a decisive stage.^[5][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point.
2. An unstable or dangerous situation, as in politics or the economy, with an abrupt change pending: a financial crisis.
3. A sudden change in the course of a disease, towards recovery or death.
4. An emotionally stressful event or traumatic change in a person's life.

Word family

• crisic
• epicrisis
• postcrisis
• crisis management
• identity crisis
• midlife crisis
• crisis center

Related words

• critic
• critical
• criticize
• critique
• criterion
• certain
• crises
• hypocrisy

Usage notes

The American Heritage groups crisis with crossroad, exigency, head, juncture and pass as words for a critical point or state of affairs.^[9]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin