[ 'kru:ʃ(ə)l ]
■ adjective
1》 decisive or critical, especially in the success or failure of something.
2》 informal excellent.
Derivatives
~ity -ʃɪ'alɪti noun
~ly adverb
Word History
The word ~ entered English in the 18th century in the sense 'cross-shaped', coming via French from Latin crux (stem cruc- ) 'cross'. The sense 'decisive' developed from the Latin phrase instantia crucis '~ instance', coined by the philosopher Francis Bacon (1561–1626): Bacon was using the crux , or fingerpost marking a fork at a crossroads, as a metaphor for the moment at which one has to take a decision. The scientists Sir Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle took up the metaphor in experimentum crucis '~ experiment'. Latin crux is the root of a number of words, including cross , crucible , crucify , cruise , crusade , and excruciate .