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crusade

Etymology and origin of the English word crusade

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kɹuːˈseɪd/ (UK); /kɹuˈseɪd/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is a blend or respelling of Middle French croisade (borrowed in the 1570s)[2][3][4][5] and Spanish cruzada,[6][2][3][4][5] both ultimately from Latin crux (“cross”).[6][2][3][4] The Spanish word is from Medieval Latin cruciāta, past participle of cruciāre “to mark with a cross”.[2][3] Middle English used croiserie (about 1300), from Old French.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A military expedition of European Christians to recover the Holy Land, as croisade (1577).[7][2] The modern form crusade dates from 1706.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word was soon extended to any holy war blessed by the Church (1603),[7] such as those against the Albigensians.[3][7] The figurative sense of an aggressive campaign against a public evil appeared in 1786,[2][3][7] and in modern use a crusade may be any vigorous movement for a cause.[6][4][5] In Middle English the usual way to say “go on crusade” was take the cross.[3]

Timeline

  • about 1300 – croiserie.[2][3]
  • 1577 – croisade, a crusade to the Holy Land.[7][2][3]
  • 1603 – any holy war sanctioned by the Church.[7]
  • 1706 – the spelling crusade.[2][3]
  • 1732 – verb, to go on a crusade.[2][3][4][7]
  • 1743 – crusader.[2]
  • 1786 – a campaign against a public evil.[2][3][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (often capitalized) Any of the military expeditions of European Christians in the 11th to 13th centuries to win the Holy Land from the Muslims.
  2. A holy war undertaken with the sanction of the pope.
  3. A vigorous, concerted movement for a cause or against an abuse.

Verb

  1. To take part in a crusade.

Word family

  • crusader
  • cross
  • crucial
  • crucifer
  • crucify
  • crucifixion
  • excruciate
  • excruciation
  • crux

References

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

“Crusade.” Etymologically, 13 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/crusade. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·