Etymologically
Log in

crisis

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 21:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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

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