Crisp, krisp, adj. curling closely: having a wavy surface: so dry as to be crumbled easily: brittle, or short, as 'crisp cakes,' &c.: fresh and bracing, as 'crisp air:' firm, the opposite of limp or flabby, as a 'crisp style' in writing.—v.t. to curl or twist: to make crisp or wavy.—adjs. Cris′pāte, -d, having a crisped or wavy appearance.—ns. Crispā′tion; Crisp′ature, a curling; Crisp′er, one who or that which crisps; Crisp′ing-ī′ron, -pin, a curling-iron.—adv. Crisp′ly.—n. Crisp′ness.—adj. Crisp′y. [A.S.,—L. crispus.]
Crispin, kris′pin, n. a shoemaker, from Crispin of Soissons, the patron saint of shoemakers, martyred 25th October 287.
Criss-cross, kris′-kros, n. a mark formed by two lines in the form of a cross, as the signature of a person unable to write his name: a child's game played on a slate, the lines being drawn in the form of a cross.—v.i. to intersect frequently.
Cristate, kris′tāt, adj. crested.—n. Cris′ta, a crest.—adjs. Cris′tiform; Cristim′anous, having crested claws.
Criterion, krī-tē′ri-on, n. a means or standard of judging: a test: a rule, standard, or canon:—pl. Critē′ria. [Gr., from kritēs, a judge.]
Crith, krith, n. a chemical unit of mass for gases, the mass of one litre of hydrogen. [Gr. krithē, barley.]
Crithomancy, krith′o-man-si, n. divination by the meal strewed over the victims of sacrifice. [Gr. krithē, barley, and manteia, divination.]
Critic, krit′ik, n. one skilled in estimating the quality of literary or artistic work: a professional reviewer: one skilled in textual or biblical criticism, literature, the fine arts, &c.: a fault-finder.—adj. Crit′ical, relating to criticism: discriminating: captious: decisive.—adv. Crit′ically.—ns. Crit′icalness, Critical′ity; Crit′icaster, Crit′ickin, a petty critic.—adj. Criticīs′able.—v.t. Crit′icise, to pass judgment on: to censure.—ns. Crit′icism, the art of judging, esp. in literature or the fine arts: a critical judgment or observation; Critique (kri-tēk′), a critical examination of any production: a review.—Critical angle, the least angle of incidence at which a ray is totally reflected; Critical philosophy, that of Kant as based on a critical examination of the faculty of knowledge; Critical point, that temperature below which a substance may, and above which it cannot, be liquefied by pressure alone.—Higher or Historical criticism, as distinguished from Textual or Verbal criticism, the inquiry into the composition, date, and authenticity of the books of Scripture, from historical and literary considerations. [Gr. kritikos—krinein, to judge.]
Croak, krōk, v.i. to utter a low hoarse sound, as a frog or raven: to grumble: to forebode evil: to utter croakingly: (slang) to die.—n. the sound of a frog or raven.—n. Croak′er.—adv. Croak′ily.—n. Croak′ing.—adj. Croak′y. [From the sound. Cf. Crake, Crow.]
Croat, krō′at, n. a native of Croatia, esp. one serving as a soldier in the Austrian army.