crisp
pronunciation
How to pronounce crisp in British English:
UK [krɪsp]
How to pronounce crisp in American English:
US [krɪsp]
-
- Noun:
- a thin crisp slice of potato fried in deep fat
-
- Verb:
- make wrinkles or creases into a smooth surface
- make brown and crisp by heating
-
- Adjective:
- (of something seen or heard) clearly defined
- tender and brittle
- pleasantly cold and invigorating
- pleasingly firm and fresh and making a crunching noise when chewed
- in small tight curls
- brief and to the point; effectively cut short
Word Origin
- crisp
- crisp: [OE] Historically, crisp means ‘curly’. It was borrowed into Old English from Latin crispus ‘curled’ (which was also the source of French crêpe, acquired by English as crape in the 17th century and then reborrowed in the original French form in the 19th century). The reason for the emergence of the word’s modern sense ‘brittle’, which happened in the early 16th century, is not clear, it may simply be that the sound of the word suggested brittleness.=> crape, crêpe
- crisp (adj.)
- Old English crisp "curly," from Latin crispus "curled, wrinkled, having curly hair," from PIE root *(s)ker- (3) "to turn, bend" (see ring (n.)). It began to mean "brittle" 1520s, for obscure reasons, perhaps based on what happens to flat things when they are cooked. Figurative sense of "neat, brisk" is from 1814; perhaps a separate word. As a noun, from late 14c. Potato crisps (the British version of U.S. potato chips) is from 1929.
- crisp (v.)
- late 14c., "to curl," from crisp (adj.). Meaning "to become brittle" is from 1805. Related: Crisped; crisping.
Example
- 1. A salad arrives smoking , with the curls forming around crisp lettuce leaves and tomatoes .
- 2. The bill from the nineteen-forties still looked brand-new and seeing that crisp note made don feel sad .
- 3. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the dough is crisp and risen and the cheese has melted but not coloured .
- 4. My daughter and I spent the afternoon baking apple crisp followed by collecting leaves and swinging on the swingset together .
- 5. Executives admit that the crisp mountain air and davos 's informal atmosphere can be helpful .