Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter C - Page 153

Crossroad (n.) A road that crosses another; an obscure road intersecting or avoiding the main road.

Crossrow (n.) The alphabet; -- called also Christcross-row.

Crossrow (n.) A row that crosses others.

Crossruff (n.) The play in whist where partners trump each a different suit, and lead to each other for that purpose; -- called also seesaw.

Cross-spale (n.) Alt. of Cross-spall

Cross-spall (n.) One of the temporary wooden braces, placed horizontally across a frame to hold it in position until the deck beams are in; a cross-pawl.

Cross-springer (n.) One of the ribs in a groined arch, springing from the corners in a diagonal direction. [See Illustr. of Groined vault.]

Cross-staff (n.) An instrument formerly used at sea for taking the altitudes of celestial bodies.

Cross-staff (n.) A surveyor's instrument for measuring offsets.

Cross-stitch (n.) A form of stitch, where the stitches are diagonal and in pairs, the thread of one stitch crossing that of the other.

Cross-stone (n.) See Harmotome, and Staurotide.

Cross-tail (n.) A bar connecting the ends of the side rods or levers of a backaction or side-lever engine.

Cross-tie (n.) A sleeper supporting and connecting the rails, and holding them in place.

Cross-tining (n.) A mode of harrowing crosswise, or transversely to the ridges.

Crosstrees (n. pl.) Pieces of timber at a masthead, to which are attached the upper shrouds. At the head of lower masts in large vessels, they support a semicircular platform called the "top."

Cross-vaulting (n.) Vaulting formed by the intersection of two or more simple vaults.

Crossway (n.) See Crossroad.

Cross-week (n.) Rogation week, when the cross was borne in processions.

Crosswise (adv.) In the form of a cross; across; transversely.

Crosswort (n.) A name given to several inconspicuous plants having leaves in whorls of four, as species of Crucianella, Valantia, etc.

Crotalaria (n.) A genus of leguminous plants; rattlebox.

Crotaline (a.) Resembling, or pertaining to, the Crotalidae, or Rattlesnake family.

Crotalo (n.) A Turkish musical instrument.

Crotalum (n.) A kind of castanet used by the Corybantes.

Crotalus (n.) A genus of poisonous serpents, including the rattlesnakes.

Crotaphite (n.) The temple or temporal fossa. Also used adjectively.

Crotaphitic (n.) Pertaining to the temple; temporal.

Crotches (pl. ) of Crotch

Crotch (n.) The angle formed by the parting of two legs or branches; a fork; the point where a trunk divides; as, the crotch of a tree.

Crotch (n.) A stanchion or post of wood or iron, with two arms for supporting a boom, spare yards, etc.; -- called also crane and crutch.

Crotched (a.) Having a crotch; forked.

Crotched (a.) Cross; peevish.

Crotchet (n.) A forked support; a crotch.

Crotchet (n.) A time note, with a stem, having one fourth the value of a semibreve, one half that of a minim, and twice that of a quaver; a quarter note.

Crotchet (n.) An indentation in the glacis of the covered way, at a point where a traverse is placed.

Crotchet (n.) The arrangement of a body of troops, either forward or rearward, so as to form a line nearly perpendicular to the general line of battle.

Crotchet (n.) A bracket. See Bracket.

Crotchet (n.) An instrument of a hooked form, used in certain cases in the extraction of a fetus.

Crotchet (n.) A perverse fancy; a whim which takes possession of the mind; a conceit.

Crotchet (v. i.) To play music in measured time.

Crotcheted (a.) Marked or measured by crotchets; having musical notation.

Crotchetiness (n.) The state or character of being crotchety, or whimsical.

Crotchety (a.) Given to crotchets; subject to whims; as, a crotchety man.

Croton (n.) A genus of euphorbiaceous plants belonging to tropical countries.

Croton bug () A small, active, winged species of cockroach (Ectobia Germanica), the water bug. It is common aboard ships, and in houses in cities, esp. in those with hot-water pipes.

Crotonic (a.) Of or pertaining to, or derived from, a plant of the genus Croton, or from croton oil.

Crotonine (n.) A supposed alkaloid obtained from croton oil by boiling it with water and magnesia, since found to be merely a magnesia soap of the oil.

Crotonylene (n.) A colorless, volatile, pungent liquid, C4H6, produced artificially, and regarded as an unsaturated hydrocarbon of the acetylene series, and analogous to crotonic acid.

Crottles (n. pl.) A name given to various lichens gathered for dyeing.

Crouched (imp. & p. p.) of Crouch

Crouching (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Crouch

Crouch (v. i.) To bend down; to stoop low; to lie close to the ground with the logs bent, as an animal when waiting for prey, or in fear.

Crouch (v. i.) To bend servilely; to stoop meanly; to fawn; to cringe.

Crouch (v. t.) To sign with the cross; to bless.

Crouch (v. t.) To bend, or cause to bend, as in humility or fear.

Crouched (a.) Marked with the sign of the cross.

Croud (n.) See Crowd, a violin.

Crouke (n.) A crock; a jar.

Croup (n.) The hinder part or buttocks of certain quadrupeds, especially of a horse; hence, the place behind the saddle.

Croup (n.) An inflammatory affection of the larynx or trachea, accompanied by a hoarse, ringing cough and stridulous, difficult breathing; esp., such an affection when associated with the development of a false membrane in the air passages (also called membranous croup). See False croup, under False, and Diphtheria.

Croupade (n.) A leap in which the horse pulls up his hind legs toward his belly.

Croupal (a.) Croupy.

Crouper (n.) See Crupper.

Croupier (n.) One who presides at a gaming table and collects the stakes.

Croupier (n.) One who, at a public dinner party, sits at the lower end of the table as assistant chairman.

Croupous (a.) Relating to or resembling croup; especially, attended with the formation of a deposit or membrane like that found in membranous croup; as, croupous laryngitis.

Croupy (a.) Of or pertaining to croup; resembling or indicating croup; as, a croupy cough.

Crouse (a.) Brisk; lively; bold; self-complacent.

Croustade (n.) Bread baked in a mold, and scooped out, to serve minces upon.

Crout (n.) See Sourkrout.

Crouton (n.) Bread cut in various forms, and fried lightly in butter or oil, to garnish hashes, etc.

Crew (imp.) of Crow

Crowed () of Crow

Crowed (p. p.) of Crow

Crown () of Crow

Crowing (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Crow

Crow (v. i.) To make the shrill sound characteristic of a cock, either in joy, gayety, or defiance.

Crow (v. i.) To shout in exultation or defiance; to brag.

Crow (v. i.) To utter a sound expressive of joy or pleasure.

Crow (v. i.) A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles. It has a harsh, croaking note. See Caw.

Crow (v. i.) A bar of iron with a beak, crook, or claw; a bar of iron used as a lever; a crowbar.

Crow (v. i.) The cry of the cock. See Crow, v. i., 1.

Crow (v. i.) The mesentery of a beast; -- so called by butchers.

Crowbar (n.) A bar of iron sharpened at one end, and used as a lever.

Crowberry (n.) A heathlike plant of the genus Empetrum, and its fruit, a black, scarcely edible berry; -- also called crakeberry.

Crowded (imp. & p. p.) of Crowd

Crowding (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Crowd

Crowd (v. t.) To push, to press, to shove.

Crowd (v. t.) To press or drive together; to mass together.

Crowd (v. t.) To fill by pressing or thronging together; hence, to encumber by excess of numbers or quantity.

Crowd (v. t.) To press by solicitation; to urge; to dun; hence, to treat discourteously or unreasonably.

Crowd (v. i.) To press together or collect in numbers; to swarm; to throng.

Crowd (v. i.) To urge or press forward; to force one's self; as, a man crowds into a room.

Crowd (v. t.) A number of things collected or closely pressed together; also, a number of things adjacent to each other.

Crowd (v. t.) A number of persons congregated or collected into a close body without order; a throng.

Crowd (v. t.) The lower orders of people; the populace; the vulgar; the rabble; the mob.

Crowd (n.) An ancient instrument of music with six strings; a kind of violin, being the oldest known stringed instrument played with a bow.

Crowd (v. t.) To play on a crowd; to fiddle.

Crowder (n.) One who plays on a crowd; a fiddler.

Crowder (n.) One who crowds or pushes.

[previous page] [Index] [next page]