crisp
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /kɹɪsp/
text: -
rhymes: -ɪsp
Forms: form: crisper
form: crispest
Etymology: The adjective is derived partly from the following:
* Sense 1: Middle English crisp (“curly, wavy”), from Old English crisp (“curly”), from Latin crispus (“of hair: crimped, curly”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kris-, from *(s)ker- (“to bend; to turn”).
* Sense 2: from the above, and probably also onomatopoeic, representing a crinkling or crunching sound.
Doublet of crape and crepe.
Adjective sense 2.2.3 (“of air, weather, etc.: cool and dry”) is transferred from a description of frost or snow as “crisp”, that is, crunchy.
The noun is derived partly from the following:
* Middle English crisp (“light, crinkled fabric; kind of pastry; crinkliness or roughness of skin”), from crisp (adjective) (see above).
* Modern English crisp (adjective) (“having a consistency which is hard yet brittle”).
Senses: examples: text: crisp hair
text: A certeyn lightning on his headtop gliſtered harmeleſſe. / His criſp locks frizeling, his temples prettelye ſtroaking.
ref: 1582, Virgil, “The Second Booke of Virgil His Aeneis”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, […], London: […] Henrie Bynneman […], published 1583, →OCLC; republished as The First Four Books of the Æneid of Virgil, […], Edinburgh: [Edinburgh Printing Company], 1836, →OCLC, page 56:
text: Bulls are more Criſpe vpon the Fore-head than Covves; […]
ref: 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “IX. Century. [Experiment Solitary, Touching the Differences of Liuing Creatures, Male & Female.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC, paragraph 852, page 226:
text: "The Stranger" was a dark, comely, youthful man's head, portentously looking out of a dark, shaded ground, and ambiguously smiling. There was no discoverable drapery; the dark head, with its crisp, curly, jetty hair, seemed just disentangling itself from out of curtains and clouds.
ref: 1852 July, Herman Melville, “Book XXVI. A Walk; a Foreign Portrait; a Sail. And the End.”, in Pierre: Or, The Ambiguities, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, section I, page 479:
text: [T]he short, soft, and crisp hair resembles Astrachan wool, […]
ref: 1860, Richard F[rancis] Burton, “Zanzibar and the Mrima Explained”, in The Lake Regions of Central Africa: A Picture of Exploration […], volume I, London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, →OCLC, page 34:
glosses: Senses relating to curliness.
Of hair: curling, especially in tight, stiff curls or ringlets; also (obsolete), of a person: having hair curled in this manner.
examples: text: [T]hree times did they drinke / Vpon agreement of ſvvift Seuerns floud, / VVho then affrighted vvith their bloudie lookes, / Ran fearefully among the trembling reedes, / And hid his criſpe-head in the hollovv banke, / Bloud-ſtained vvith theſe valiant combatants, […]
ref: c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], signatures B.iii., recto – B.iii., verso:
text: You Nimphs cald Nayades of yͤ vvindring brooks, / VVith your ſedg'd crovvnes, and euer-harmleſſe lookes, / Leaue your criſpe channels, and on this greene-Lane / Anſvvere your ſummons, Iuno do's command.
ref: 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 15, column 1:
text: The elder ladies' wrinkles curled much crisper / As they beheld; […]
ref: 1823 August 29, [Lord Byron], Don Juan. Cantos IX.—X.—and XI., London: […] [C. H. Reynell] for John Hunt, […], →OCLC, canto IX, stanza LXXVII, page 44:
text: [T]here was a fresh smell of seaweed, and the tiny ripples curled crisp and white along the pebbly bays.
ref: 1877, William Black, “An Inroad of Pale Faces”, in Green Pastures and Piccadilly. […], volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 239:
glosses: Senses relating to curliness.
Of a body of water, skin, etc.: having a surface which is rippled or wrinkled.
examples: text: Feathered VVater Moſs. Branched. Leaves criſp, feathered, undulated, pointing tvvo vvays.
ref: 1770, John Berkenhout, “Class XXIV. Cryptogamia. […] II. Musci, Mosses.”, in Outlines of the Natural History of Great Britain and Ireland. […], volume II (Comprehending the Vegetable Kingdom), London: […] P[eter] Elmsly (successor to Mr. [Paul] Vaillant) […], →OCLC, paragraph 4, page 293:
topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
glosses: Senses relating to curliness.
Synonym of crispate (“of a leaf: having curled, notched, or wavy edges”); crisped.
synonyms: word: crispate
extra: (“of a leaf: having curled, notched, or wavy edges”); crisped
examples: text: One whyle hée at my necke dooth ſnatch / Another whyle my cléere criſp legges be ſtriueth for too catch, / Or trippes at mée: and euerywhere the vauntage he dooth watch.
ref: 1567, Ovid, “The Ninth Booke”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis, […], London: […] Willyam Seres […], →OCLC, folio 111, recto:
text: Common Mother [Nature] […] vvhoſe ſelfeſame Mettle […] Engenders the blacke Toad, and Adder blevv, / The gilded Nevvt, and eyeleſſe venom'd VVorme, / VVith all th'abhorred Births belovv Criſpe Heauen, / VVhereon Hyperions quickning fire doth ſhine: […]
ref: c. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 92, column 1:
text: […] Fryer, you muſt leave / Your neat criſpe Clarret, and fall to your Syder / Avvhile; […]
ref: c. 1612–1630 (date written), B. J. F. [pseudonym; attributed to John Fletcher, George Chapman, Ben Jonson, Philip Massinger et al.], The Bloody Brother. A Tragedy, London: […] R[ichard] Bishop, for Thomas Allott, and Iohn Crook, […], published 1639, →OCLC, Act IV, scene ii, signature G, verso:
glosses: Senses relating to curliness.
Clear; also, shining, or smooth.
qualifier: uncertain
examples: text: The crisp snow crunched underfoot.
text: Our customers in the produce department expect crisp apples and firm bananas.
text: I Craſſhe [crush] as a thynge dothe that is cryſpe or britell bytwene ones tethe: le creſpe, prime cõiuga.
ref: 1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “The Table of Verbes”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ […], [London]: […] [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by Iohan Haukyns, →OCLC, 3rd boke, folio cxcix, verso, column 2; reprinted Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, October 1972, →OCLC:
text: In Froſty vveather, Muſicke vvithin doores ſoundeth better. VVhich may be, by reaſon, not of the Diſpoſition of the Aire, but of the VVood or String of the Inſtrument, vvhich is made more Criſpe, and ſo more porous and hollovv: And vve ſee that Old Lutes ſound better than Nevv, for the ſame reaſon.
ref: 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “III. Century. [Experiments in Consort Touching Melioration of Sounds.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC, paragraph 231, page 63:
text: [M]y vvife […] uſed every art to magnify the merit of her daughter. If the cakes at tea eat ſhort and criſp, they vvere made by Olivia: if the gooſeberry vvine vvas vvell knit, the gooſeberries vvere of her gathering: […]
ref: 1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], “The Family Use Art, which is Opposed with Still Greater”, in The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume I, Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC, page 158:
text: There is no flavour comparable, I will contend, to that of the crisp, tawny, well-watched, not over-roasted, crackling [of a suckling pig] […]
ref: 1823, Elia [pseudonym; Charles Lamb], “A Dissertation upon Roast Pig”, in Elia. Essays which have Appeared under that Signature in The London Magazine, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, page 283:
text: Thanksgiving comes, with its glad thanks, and crisp turkeys;—but Pierre sits there in his room; […]
ref: 1852 July, Herman Melville, “Book XXII. The Flower-curtain Lifted from Before a Tropical Author; with Some Remarks on the Transcendental Flesh-brush Philosophy.”, in Pierre: Or, The Ambiguities, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, section IV, page 414:
text: The dry snuff is made of leaf toasted till crisp and pounded between two stones, mixed with a little magádil or saltpetre, sometimes scented with the heart of the plaintain-tree and stored in the tumbakira or gourd-box.
ref: 1860, Richard F[rancis] Burton, “Appendix I. Commerce, Imports and Exports.”, in The Lake Regions of Central Africa: A Picture of Exploration […], volume II, London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, →OCLC, page 419:
text: They drove along the crisp and crackling road. The hoar-frost on the hedges was beginning to melt; the sunlight had draped the bare twigs in a million of rainbow-jewels.
ref: 1877, William Black, “Friends and Neighbours”, in Green Pastures and Piccadilly. […], volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 71:
text: [F]rying in beef fat – known as dripping, suet or tallow – produces the crispest texture and richest flavour of all.
ref: 2011, Dan Lepard, “Doughnuts, Batters & Babas”, in David Whitehouse, editor, Short & Sweet: The Best of Home Baking, London: Fourth Estate, HarperCollinsPublishers, →ISBN, page 272:
glosses: Senses relating to brittleness.
Having a consistency which is hard yet brittle, and in a condition to break with a sharp fracture; crumbly, friable, short.
examples: text: And this piece of laurel is from Vaucluse! […] What an exquisite dry old, vital, young-looking, everlasting twig it is! It has been plucked nine months, and looks as hale and as crisp as if it would last ninety years.
ref: 1820 July 12, Leigh Hunt, “On Receiving a Sprig of Laurel from Vaucluse”, in The Indicator, volume I, number XL, London: […] Joseph Appleyard, […], published 1820, →OCLC, page 316:
text: A crisp fresh odour of starch wafted from the cardboard-stiff jacket which covered a well-built, Sunday athlete's frame.
ref: 1968, Dorothy Uhnak, chapter 8, in The Bait, London: Mysterious Press in association with Arrow Books, published 1988, →ISBN, page 101:
glosses: Senses relating to brittleness.
Not limp; firm, stiff; not stale or wilted; fresh; also, effervescent, lively.
examples: text: An expert, given a certain query, will often come up with a crisp answer: “yes” or “no”.
text: A very estimable young person, Miss Sturch […] such a well-regulated mind, and such a crisp touch on the piano; […]
ref: 1857, [William] Wilkie Collins, “Fifteen Years After”, in The Dead Secret. […], volume I, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], →OCLC, book II, page 63:
text: I hoped, of course, that he would make it crisp and remove himself at an early date, for when the moment came for the balloon to go up I didn't want to be hampered by an audience. When you're pushing someone into a lake, nothing embarrasses you more than having the front seats filled up with goggling spectators.
ref: 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter 15, in Jeeves in the Offing, Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published 1963 (1975 printing), →OCLC, page 132:
text: Transit Patrolman Alexander looked a little upset. He was seeing for the first time the translation of the crisp, cold official words of police procedure into reality and he was groping.
ref: 1968, Dorothy Uhnak, chapter 3, in The Bait, London: Mysterious Press in association with Arrow Books, published 1988, →ISBN, page 29:
text: Murray's eyes remembered the woman: small and crisp and clean and taking the little boy by the hand, carefully fussing over him, smiling at him.
ref: 1968, Dorothy Uhnak, chapter 18, in The Bait, London: Mysterious Press in association with Arrow Books, published 1988, →ISBN, page 212:
text: Another way of writing the last example is 'She brought along her favourite food which is chocolate cake' but this is less concise: colons can give your writing lean, crisp style.
ref: 1999, John [G.] Hampton, Lisa Emerson, B[ruce] R. MacKay, Writing Guidelines for Postgraduate Science Students, Palmerston North, New Zealand: Dunmore Press, →ISBN, page 130:
text: Stephen Ward's crisp finish from Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's pass 11 minutes into the second half proved enough to give Mick McCarthy's men a famous victory.
ref: 2010 December 29, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0 – 1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 03 Feb 2025:
glosses: Senses relating to brittleness.
Of action, movement, a person's manner, etc.: precise and quick; brisk.
antonyms: flabby
examples: text: All these boys were in great spirits, and shouted to each other, until the broad fields were so full of merry music, that the crisp air laughed to hear it!
ref: 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 48:
text: In the long summer the climate much resembles that of Sindh; there are the same fiery suns playing upon the naked surface with a painful dazzle, cool crisp nights, and clouds of dust.
ref: 1860, Richard F[rancis] Burton, “The Geography and Ethnography of Ugogo,—The Third Region”, in The Lake Regions of Central Africa: A Picture of Exploration […], volume I, London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, →OCLC, page 297:
glosses: Senses relating to brittleness.
Of air, weather, etc.: cool and dry; also, of a period of time: characterized by such weather.
examples: text: He sat in a small room with benches where Santino had placed him, handed him the crisp, freshly withdrawn fifty-dollar bills, while Santino set about getting a bail bondsman.
ref: 1968, Dorothy Uhnak, chapter 5, in The Bait, London: Mysterious Press in association with Arrow Books, published 1988, →ISBN, page 72:
glosses: Senses relating to brittleness.
Of fabric, paper, etc.: clean and uncreased.
examples: text: This new television set has a very crisp image.
glosses: Senses relating to brittleness.
Of something heard or seen: clearly defined; clean, neat, sharp.
topics: computing
computing-theory
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: Senses relating to brittleness.
Not using fuzzy logic; based on a binary distinction between true and false.
topics: beverages
food
lifestyle
oenology
glosses: Senses relating to brittleness.
Of wine: having a refreshing amount of acidity; having less acidity than green wine, but more than a flabby one.
Derived terms: word: crispbread
word: crispen
word: crisphead
word: crispification
word: crispily
word: crispiness
word: crispless
word: crisply
word: crisp mint
word: crispness
word: crispy
word: Honeycrisp
word: semicrisp
word: supercrisp
word: ultracrisp
word: uncrisp
Related terms: crispate
crispated
crispation