crucial
English
Etymology
1706, from French crucial, a medical term for ligaments of the knee (which cross each other), from Latin crux, crucis (“cross”) (English crux), from the (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, to bend”).
The meaning “decisive, critical” is extended from a logical term, Instantias Crucis, adopted by Francis Bacon in his influential Novum Organum (1620); the notion is of cross fingerboard signposts at forking roads, thus a requirement to choose. Specific quote is:[1]
- Inter praerogativas instantiarum, ponemus loco decimo quarto Instantias Crucis; translato vocabulo a Crucibus, quae erectae in biviis indicant et signant viarum separationes.
Pronunciation
Adjective
crucial (comparative more crucial, superlative most crucial)
- Essential or decisive for determining the outcome or future of something; extremely important.
- The battle of Tali-Ihantala in 1944 is one of the crucial moments in the history of Finland.
- A secure supply of crude oil is crucial for any modern nation, let alone a superpower.
- 2014 March 7, Nicole Vulser, “Perfume manufacturers must cope with the scarcity of precious supplies”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 190, number 13, page 30:
- The perfume industry is facing a major problem: maintaining constant levels of quality is crucial, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain a regular supply of all the necessary natural ingredients.
- (archaic) Cruciform or cruciate; cross-shaped.
- (slang, chiefly Jamaica) Very good; excellent; particularly applied to reggae music.
- Delbert Wilkins is the most crucial pirate radio DJ in Brixton.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
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References
- ^ Novum Organum, Francis Bacon, Book Two, “Aphorisms”, Section XXXVI
French
Etymology
From a root of (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin crux.
Adjective
crucial (feminine cruciale, masculine plural cruciaux, feminine plural cruciales)
Further reading
- “crucial”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Portuguese
Adjective
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Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:crucial.
Spanish
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] English crucial.
Pronunciation
Adjective
crucial m or f (masculine and feminine plural cruciales)
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
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- Rhymes:English/uːʃəl
- English lemmas
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- English terms with archaic senses
- English slang
- Jamaican English
- French terms derived from Latin
- French lemmas
- French adjectives
- Spanish terms derived from English
- Spanish 2-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish adjectives
- Spanish epicene adjectives