Crux, kruks, n. a cross: (fig.) something that occasions difficulty. [L. crux, a cross.]
Crwth, kröth, n. an old Welsh stringed instrument, four of its six strings played with a bow, two twitched by the thumb. [W.]
Cry, krī, v.i. to utter a shrill loud sound, esp. one expressive of pain or grief: to lament: to weep: to bawl.—v.t. to utter loudly: to proclaim or make public:—pa.t. and pa.p. cried.—n. any loud sound, esp. of grief or pain: a fit of weeping: a pack of hounds, hence of people: particular sound uttered by an animal: bawling: lamentation: prayer: clamour:—pl. Cries.—ns. Crī′er; Cry′ing, act of calling loudly: weeping.—adj. calling loudly: claiming notice: notorious.—Cry against, to protest against; Cry down, to condemn: to decry; Cry off, to withdraw from a bargain; Cry on, to call upon: to invoke; Cry up, to praise: extol.—A far cry, a great distance; Great cry and little wool, appearance without reality: much ado about nothing; Hue and cry (see Hue); In full cry, in full pursuit, used of dogs in hunt; Within cry of, within hearing distance. [Fr. crier—L. quiritāre, to scream—freq. of L. queri, to lament.]
Cryolite, krī′o-līt, n. a mineral found on the coast of Greenland, consisting mainly of a fluoride of aluminium in combination with fluoride of sodium. [Gr. kryos, frost, and lithos, a stone.]
Cryophorus, krī-of′o-rus, n. an instrument for showing the decrease of temperature in water by evaporation. [Gr. kryos, frost, and pherein, to bear.]
Crypt, kript, n. an underground cell or chapel, esp. one used for burial.—adjs. Cryp′tic, -al, hidden: secret: unseen. [L. crypta—Gr. kryptē—kryptein, to conceal. Doublet of Grot.]
Cryptogamia, krip-to-gā′mi-a, n. the class of flowerless plants, or those which have their fructification concealed.—n. Cryp′togam.—adjs. Cryptogā′mian, Cryptogam′ic, Cryptog′amous.—ns. Cryptog′amist; Cryptog′amy. [Gr. kryptos, concealed, and gamos, marriage.]
Cryptogram, krip′tō-gram, n. a cryptograph.—ns. Cryptad′ia, things to be kept secret; Cryptol′ogy, secret language; Cryp′tonym, a secret name.
Cryptography, krip-tog′ra-fi, n. the art of secret writing: the character or cipher so used.—ns. Crypt′ograph; Cryptog′rapher.—adjs. Cryptograph′ic, -al. [Gr. kryptos, secret, and graphein, to write.]
Crystal, kris′tal, n. a superior kind of quartz, clear like ice: (chem.) a piece of matter which has assumed a definite geometrical form, with plane faces.—adjs. Crys′tal, Crys′tallīne, consisting of or like crystal in clearness, &c.; Crys′talform; Crys′tallīsable, capable of being crystallised or formed into crystals.—n. Crystallīsā′tion, the act of crystallising.—v.t. Crys′tallīse, to reduce to the form of a crystal.—v.i. to assume a crystalline form.—ns. Crys′tallite; Crystallogen′esis.—adj. Crystallogen′ic.—n. Crystallog′rapher, one skilled in crystallography.—adj. Crystallograph′ic—n. Crystallog′raphy, the science of crystallisation.—adj. Crys′talloid, having the form of a crystal.—n. a name given by Graham to a class of substances which when in solution pass easily through membranes.—n. Crys′tallomancy, a mode of divination by means of transparent bodies. [O. Fr. cristol—L. crystallum—Gr. krystallos, ice—kryos, frost.]