crux
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See also: Crux
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin crux (“cross, wooden frame for execution”), from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, to bend”). Doublet of cross.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
crux (plural cruxes or cruces)
- The basic, central, or essential point or feature.
- Synonyms: core, gist; see also Thesaurus:gist
- The crux of her argument was that the roadways needed repair before anything else could be accomplished.
- The critical or transitional moment or issue, a turning point.
- 1993, Laurence M. Porter, "Real Dreams, Literary Dreams, and the Fantastic in Literature", pages 32-47 in Carol Schreier Rupprecht (ed.) The Dream and the Text: Essays on Literature and Language.
- The mad certitude of the ogre, Abel Tiffauges, that he stands at the crux of history and that he will be able to raise Prussia "to a higher power" (p. 180), contrasts sharply with the anxiety and doubt attendant upon most modern literary dreams.
- 1993, Laurence M. Porter, "Real Dreams, Literary Dreams, and the Fantastic in Literature", pages 32-47 in Carol Schreier Rupprecht (ed.) The Dream and the Text: Essays on Literature and Language.
- A puzzle or difficulty.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Dr. Sheridan to this entry?)
- 1860, Marian Evans (translator), The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined (originally by David Strauss)
- The perpetual crux of New Testament chronologists.
- (climbing) The hardest point of a climb.
- 1907, The Alpine Journal, vol. 23. [1]
- the real crux of the climb was encountered
- 1973, Pat Armstrong, "Klondike Fever: Seventy Years Too Late", in Backpacker, Autumn 1973, page 84:
- The final half-mile was the crux of the climb.
- 2004, Craig Luebben, Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills, The Mountaineers Books, →ISBN, page 179:
- Most pitches have a distinct crux, or tough spot; some have multiple cruxes. […] ¶ Climb efficiently on the "cruiser" sections to stay fresh for the cruxes.
- 2009, R. J. Secor, The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails, Third Edition, The Mountaineers Books, →ISBN, page 51:
- Continue climbing the groove; the crux is passing some vegetation on the second pitch.
- 1907, The Alpine Journal, vol. 23. [1]
- (heraldry) A cross on a coat of arms.
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
- → French: crux
Translations[edit]
central or essential point
|
critical or transitional moment
|
|
puzzle or difficulty
(heraldry) cross on a coat of arms — see cross
Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Latin crux or English crux, in the phrase crux interpretum.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
crux f (plural cruces or cruxen)
Latin[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, to bend”).[1] Possible cognate with Latin circus (“circle”) and curvus (“curve”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Classical) IPA(key): /kruks/, [kɾʊks̠]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /kruks/, [kɾuks]
Audio (Classical) (file)
Noun[edit]
crux f (genitive crucis); third declension
- wooden frame on which criminals were crucified, especially a cross
- (derogatory) gallows bird; one who deserves to be hanged
- (figuratively) torture; misery
Declension[edit]
Third-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | crux | crucēs |
| Genitive | crucis | crucum |
| Dative | crucī | crucibus |
| Accusative | crucem | crucēs |
| Ablative | cruce | crucibus |
| Vocative | crux | crucēs |
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
- Borrowings
Unsorted borrowings
- Basque: gurutze
- Frisian
- Scandinavian
- Slavic
- South Asian
References[edit]
- crux in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879
- crux in Charlton T. Lewis, An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1891
- crux in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
- crux in Gaffiot, Félix, Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette, 1934
- Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden, Latin Phrase-Book[2], London: Macmillan and Co., 1894
- to threaten some one with death, crucifixion, torture, war: minitari (minari) alicui mortem, crucem et tormenta, bellum
- to crucify: in crucem agere, tollere aliquem
- to crucify: cruci suffigere aliquem
- to threaten some one with death, crucifixion, torture, war: minitari (minari) alicui mortem, crucem et tormenta, bellum
- crux in Harry Thurston Peck, editor, Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1898
- crux in William Smith et al., editor, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin, 1890
- ^ Pokorny 611
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- en:Climbing
- en:Heraldic charges
- en:Crosses
- Dutch terms borrowed from Latin
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- Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)ker- (turn)
- Latin 1-syllable words
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- la:People