crista

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkrɪs.ta]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkris.ta]^[1]

Forms

crista f (genitive cristae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kristā-, from Proto-Indo-European *kris-th₂-, from the same stem *kris- “crest, plume, hair” as crīnis “hair” and crispus “curly”.^[2][3][4] Wiktionary traces it to the root *(s)ker- “to turn, bend”.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Lucretius,^[2][5] who describes lions shaking the terrifying crests of their heads.^[3] Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It was the crest on the head of a bird or beast, especially a cock's comb, and the plume or crest of a helmet.^[3] Juvenal's illī surgēbant cristae “his crest rose” described someone puffed up with pride.^[6] Pliny uses it of a plant, probably yellow rattle.^[3]

The Appendix Probi corrects crysta to crista.^[7] In medieval Latin it was the ridge of a mountain or a roof, a battlement, and an ornament on a tomb.^[8] English crest came through Old French creste, first of a helmet in the early 14th century.^[9] It survives in Italian cresta and French crête.^[1]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius describes lions shaking their crests.^[3][5]
• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a cock's comb.^[6][5]
• c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal speaks of a man's crest rising.^[6][5]
• early 14th century – English crest is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A crest, comb (of a bird or beast).^[3]
2. The plume or crest of a helmet.^[3]
3. A plant, probably yellow rattle.^[3]
4. (Medieval Latin) A ridge (of a mountain or roof); a battlement.^[8]

Word family

• cristātus
• cristula

Related words

• crīnis
• crispus
• English crest

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Appendix Probi, a late antique list of correct and censured Latin word forms ("calida non calda"); ed. H. Keil, Grammatici Latini IV, Leipzig 1864, 197–199.
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com