crew
pronunciation
How to pronounce crew in British English:
UK [kruː]
How to pronounce crew in American English:
US [kruː]
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- Noun:
- the men who man a ship or aircraft
- an organized group of workmen
- an informal body of friends
- the team of men manning a racing shell
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- Verb:
- serve as a crew member on
Word Origin
- crew
- crew: [15] The idea originally underlying crew is ‘augmentation’. It comes from Old French creue, which was derived from the verb creistre ‘grow, increase, augment’, a descendant of Latin crēscere ‘grow’. At first in English it denoted a squad of military reinforcements. Soon its meaning had spread to any band of soldiers, and by the end of the 16th century the word was being used for any group of people gathered together with or without a particular purpose. The most familiar modern application, to the people manning a ship, emerged in the latter part of the 17th century.=> crescent, croissant, increase
- crew (n.)
- mid-15c., "group of soldiers," from Middle French crue (Old French creue) "an increase, recruit, military reinforcement," from fem. past participle of creistre "grow," from Latin crescere "arise, grow" (see crescent). Meaning "people acting or working together" is first attested 1560s. "Gang of men on a warship" is from 1690s. Crew-cut first attested 1938, so called because the style originally was adopted by boat crews at Harvard and Yale.
Example
- 1. The crew of south koreans and chinese have returned home .
- 2. Japan earlier this month freed the fishing captain 's crew .
- 3. The boat 's crew included four south koreans and three chinese .
- 4. Somali pirates are now holding six vessels and 146 foreign crew .
- 5. More than 200 crew and 10 vessels are still being held in somalia .