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.
- 1775, Thomas Sheridan, Lectures on the Art of Reading
- What I have advanced upon this species of verse will contribute to solve a poetical problem, thrown out by Dryden as a crux to his brethren
- 1860, Marian Evans (translator), The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined (originally by David Strauss)
- The perpetual crux of New Testament chronologists.
- 1775, Thomas Sheridan, Lectures on the Art of Reading
- (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.
Derived terms[edit]
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-Italic *kruks, 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/, [krʊks̠]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /kruks/, [kruks]
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 (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- crux in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- crux in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- crux in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
- Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
- 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 (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- crux in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
- ^ Pokorny 611
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)ker- (turn)
- English terms borrowed from Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English doublets
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ʌks
- Rhymes:English/ʌks/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Climbing
- en:Heraldic charges
- en:Crosses
- Dutch terms borrowed from Latin
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms borrowed from English
- Dutch terms derived from English
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch irregular nouns
- Dutch feminine nouns
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)ker- (turn)
- Latin terms inherited from Proto-Italic
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Italic
- Latin 1-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin terms with Ecclesiastical IPA pronunciation
- Latin terms with audio links
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin feminine nouns
- Latin third declension nouns
- Latin feminine nouns in the third declension
- Latin derogatory terms
- Latin words in Meissner and Auden's phrasebook
- la:People