Etymologically
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crispy

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈkɹɪs.pi/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English crisp + -y,[2][3][4][5] and was first written as crispi, also cripsi.[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Curly, wavy, of hair: before 1398, in John Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus's De Proprietatibus Rerum, where the hair of the beard and head is crispy & crolled.[6][2][4]

Semantic evolution

Like crisp, the word first meant curly;[2][6] Johnson (1755) knew only this sense, quoting the "crispy snaky locks" of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.[8] The sense "brittle", now the usual one, is recorded from 1611, in Cotgrave's dictionary,[2][4] and "pleasantly sharp, brisk" from 1841.[2][3] From 1940 crispy noodles were the fried noodles served with Chinese dishes.[2][3] Collins still gives "having waves or curls" as a second sense.[9]

Timeline

  • before 1398 – curly, wavy.[6][2]
  • 1611 – brittle, crisp.[2][4]
  • 1755 – Johnson defines it as curled.[8]
  • 1841 – brisk, pleasantly sharp.[2]
  • 1940 – crispy noodles, with Chinese food.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Firm and brittle, breaking easily, especially of food that is pleasant to bite: The chips were hot and crispy.[9][5][3]
  2. Having waves or curls; curly.[9][2][8]
  3. Fresh and brisk: a crispy autumn morning.[2][3]

Word family

  • crispiness
  • crispily

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins