crystal English · revision 5417

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1000|origins=grc κρύσταλλος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkrɪs.təl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|cristal]], [[inh|ang|cristal]], [[bor|fro|cristal]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|crystallum|t=ice, crystal]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[grc|κρύσταλλος|tr=krústallos|t=ice, rock crystal]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|grc|κρύος|tr=krúos|t=frost]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*kreus-|t=to begin to freeze, form a crust]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[crust]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Between the 15th and 17th centuries the spelling was gradually changed to the Latin form.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Clear ice, and a clear transparent mineral like ice: about 1000, in Ælfric.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The ancients regarded rock crystal as a kind of petrified ice.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “ice”, a literal translation from the Vulgate, was obsolete by the mid-16th century.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) ''Clear as crystal'' is from before 1300.^(OED 1989) A piece of rock crystal used in magic or divination is from 1393,^(OED 1989) and the adjective from about 1380.^(Barnhart 1988) Crystal glass is from 1594, the 1590s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The chemical sense, a solid with a regular structure bounded by plane faces, is from the 1620s.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The ''crystal ball'' is from 1794.^(Etymonline) ''Crystallize'' is from 1598 and ''crystalline'' from before 1398.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – ice; rock crystal.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1393 – a crystal used in magic.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1594 – crystal glass.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1620s – in chemistry.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1794 – ''crystal ball''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A solid substance whose [[atom|alt=atoms]] or molecules are arranged in a regular repeating pattern, with flat faces.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Clear transparent [[quartz]], or a piece of it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Very clear, high-quality glass, or objects made of it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The glass cover of a watch face.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Very clear or transparent: ''crystal waters''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[crystallike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[crystalline]]

+ * [[crystallize]]

+ * [[crust]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}