crater

See also Crater, cráter, cratur, craytur, and craythur

English

Etymology 1

First coined 1613, from Latin crater (“basin”), from Ancient Greek κρατήρ (kratēr, “mixingbowl, wassail-bowl”), from κράμα (krama, “mixture”), from κεράννυμι (kerannumi, “to mix, to mingle”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈkɹeɪ.tə(ɹ)/, SAMPA: /"kreI.t@(r)/
• (US) IPA: /ˈkɹeɪ.tɚ/, SAMPA: /"kreI.t@`/
• Rhymes: -eɪtə(r)

Noun

crater (plural craters)

1. (astronomy) A hemispherical pit created by the impact of a meteorite or other object.
2. (geology) The basinlike opening or mouth of a volcano, through which the chief eruption comes; similarly, the mouth of a geyser, about which a cone of silica is often built up.
3. (informal) The pit left by the explosion of a mine or bomb.
4. (informal) Any large, roughly circular depression or hole.

Synonyms

• (astronomy): astrobleme
• (geology): caldera

Translations

astronomy: hemispherical pit

Arabic: فوهة البركان (ar) (fawwahat al-burkaan) f. Bulgarian: кратер (bg) m. Chinese: Mandarin: (impact crater) 撞擊坑 (cmn), 撞击坑 (cmn) (zhuàngjī-kēng) Czech: kráter (cs) m. Dutch: krater (nl) m. Finnish: kraatteri (fi) French: cratère (fr) m. German: Krater (de) m. Greek: κρατήρας (el) (kratíras) m.

Hebrew: מכתש (makhtesh) m. Italian: cratere (it) m. Japanese: クレーター (ja) (kurētā) Manx: towl (gv) m. Norwegian: krater (no) n. Russian: кратер (ru) (kráter) m. Slovene: krater (sl) m. Spanish: cráter (es) m. Swedish: krater (sv) c., nedslagskrater (sv) c. Ukrainian: кратер (uk) (kráter) m.

geology: opening of a volcano

Arabic: فوهة البركان (ar) (fawwahat al-burkaan) f. Bulgarian: кратер (bg) m. Chinese: Mandarin: 火山口 (cmn) (huǒshānkǒu), 噴火口 (cmn), 喷火口 (cmn) (pēnhuǒkǒu) Czech: kráter (cs) m. Finnish: kraatteri (fi) French: cratère (fr) m. German: Krater (de) m. Greek: κρατήρας (el) (kratíras) m.

Italian: cratere (it) m. Japanese: クレーター (ja) (kurētā), 噴火口 (ja) (ふんかこう, funkakō) Latin: crātēr (la) m. Norwegian: krater (no) n. Russian: кратер (ru) (kráter) m. Slovene: krater (sl) m. Spanish: cráter (es) m. Swedish: krater (sv) c., vulkankrater (sv) c. Ukrainian: кратер (uk) (kráter) m.

pit left by an explosion

Arabic: فوهة البركان (ar) (fawwahat al-burkaan) f. Bulgarian: яма (bg) f., кратер (bg) m. Chinese: Mandarin: 彈坑 (cmn), 弹坑 (cmn) (dànkēng) French: cratère (fr) m. German: Krater (de) m. Greek: κρατήρας (el) (kratíras) m. Hebrew: מכתש (makhtesh) m.

Italian: cratere (it) m. Japanese: クレーター (ja) (kurētā) Norwegian: krater (no) n. Russian: кратер (ru) (kráter) m. Slovene: krater (sl) m. Swedish: krater (sv) c. Ukrainian: кратер (uk) (kráter) m.

Verb

crater (third-person singular simple present craters, present participle cratering, simple past and past participle cratered)

1. To collapse catastrophically; implode; hollow out; to become devastated or completely destroyed.

   The economy is about to crater. -- Attributed by David Letterman to Sen. John McCain. NYTimes blog

2. (snowboarding) To crash or fall.

   He cratered into that snow bank about five seconds after his first lesson.

Etymology 2

Possibly a diminutive of cratur (dialect form of creature).

Pronunciation

(Ireland) IPA: /ˈkɹeː.təɹ/

Noun

crater (plural craters)

1. (Ireland, informal) A term of endearment, a dote, a wretched thing.

   1843 - I then had the two best tarriers beneath the canopy; this poor crater is their daughter," and he patted the dog's head affectionately.
   William Hamilton Maxwell, Wild Sports of the West: With Legendary Tales, and Local Sketches , Publisher R. Bentley, page 77,

   1859 - She is a charming crater; I would venture to say that, if I was not her father.
   The British Drama: A Collection of the Most Esteemed Tragedies, Comedies ...

Usage notes

This term is still commonly used in speech but rarely appears in modern writing.

See also craterin

Anagrams

• carter, Carter
• tracer

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Latin

Alternative forms

• cratera

Etymology

From the romanized form of the Ancient Greek (Doric) κρατήρ (krater, “mixingbowl, wassail-bowl”) (Ionic) κρητήρ (kreter), from "to mix, mingle", from κεράννυμι (kerannumi, “to mix, to mingle, to blend”)

Noun

crātēr (genitive crātēris); m, third declension

1. A basin or bowl for water or for mixing.
2. The opening of a volcano.

Inflection

Number	Singular	Plural
nominative	crātēr	crātērēs
genitive	crātēris	crātērum
dative	crātērī	crātēribus
accusative	crātērem	crātērēs
ablative	crātēre	crātēribus
vocative	crātēr	crātērēs