I. ˈkrist ə l noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English cristal, from Old French, from Latin crystallum, from Greek krystallos — more at crust
1. obsolete : clear ice
2. : quartz that is transparent or nearly so and that is either colorless or only slightly tinged ; also : a piece of this material (as one cut for personal ornament or for use in magic art) — called also rock crystal ; compare cairngorm , pebble 2; crystal gazing
3. : something (as clear water) resembling crystal in transparency and colorlessness
4.
a. : a body formed by the solidification under favorable conditions of a chemical element, a compound, or an isomorphous mixture and having a regularly repeating internal arrangement of its atoms ; especially : such a body that has natural external plane faces as a result of the internal structure
b. : a substance having certain properties of crystals — see liquid crystals
5.
a. : glass of superior quality and often with ornamental cutting : flint glass ; also : a piece of this material
a fine dinner set of crystal
b. : a colorless transparent diamond
6. : the glass or transparent plastic that covers the dial of a watch or clock
7.
a. : a crystalline material used in a sharply tuned electromechanical transducer often as a frequency-determining element : a quartz plate
b. : a class of detector in a radio receiver
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English cristal, from cristal, n.
1. : consisting of or resembling crystal : crystalline , clear , transparent , lucid
crystal streams
the crystal clearness of his arguments
2.
a. : relating to or using a crystal
a crystal radio receiver
b. : utilizing a Rochelle salt or other crystal as the basic conversion mechanism — used especially of a microphone, phonograph pickup, or cutting head
III. transitive verb
( crystaled or crystalled ; crystaled or crystalled ; crystaling or crystalling ; crystals )
: to make into crystal : cover with crystal
the frost that crystaled it over
IV. noun
: ice 2 herein ; broadly : methamphetamine in any form when used illicitly