Chapter 95

||CrÚ`dit" mo`bi`lier" (m?`b?`ly?"). [F. crÚdit credit & mobilier personal, pertaining to personal property.] A joint stock company, formed for general banking business, or for the construction of public works, by means of loans on personal estate, after the manner of the crÚdit foncier on real estate. In practice, however, this distinction has not been strictly observed.

Cred"it*or (kr?d"?t-?r), n. [L.: cf. F. cr&?;diteur. See Credit.] 1. One who credits, believes, or trusts.

The easy creditors of novelties. Daniel.

2. One who gives credit in business matters; hence, one to whom money is due; -- correlative to debtor.

Creditors have better memories than debtors. Franklin.

{ Cred"it*ress (kr?d"?t-r?s), Cred"i*trix (kr?d"?-tr?ks), } n. [L. creditrix.] A female creditor.

Cre"do (kr?"d?), n. [L. See Creed.] The creed, as sung or read in the Roman Catholic church.

He repeated Aves and Credos. Macaulay.

Cre*du"li*ty (kr?-d?"l?-t?), n. [L. credulitas, fr. credulus: cf. F. crÚdulitÚ. See Credulous.] Readiness of belief; a disposition to believe on slight evidence.

That implict credulity is the mark of a feeble mind will not be disputed. Sir W. Hamilton.

Cred"u*lous (kr?d"?-l?s; 135), a. [L. credulus, fr. credere. See Creed.] 1. Apt to believe on slight evidence; easily imposed upon; unsuspecting. Landor.

Eve, our credulous mother. Milton.

2. Believed too readily. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

Cred"u*lous*ly, adv. With credulity.

Cred"u*lous*ness, n. Readiness to believe on slight evidence; credulity.

Beyond all credulity is the credulousness of atheists. S. Clarke.

Creed (krēd), n. [OE. credo, crede, AS. creda, fr. L. credo I believe, at the beginning of the Apostles' creed, fr. credere to believe; akin to OIr. cretim I believe, and Skr. šraddadhāmi; šrat trust + dhā to put. See Do, v. t., and cf. Credo, Grant.] 1. A definite summary of what is believed; esp., a summary of the articles of Christian faith; a confession of faith for public use; esp., one which is brief and comprehensive.

In the Protestant system the creed is not co÷rdinate with, but always subordinate to, the Bible. Schaff-Herzog Encyc.

2. Any summary of principles or opinions professed or adhered to.

I love him not, nor fear him; there's my creed. Shak.

Apostles' creed, Athanasian creed, Nicene creed. See under Apostle, Athanasian, Nicene.

Creed, v. t. To believe; to credit. [Obs.]

That part which is so creeded by the people. Milton.

Creed"less, a. Without a creed. Carlyle.

Creek (krēk), n. [AS. crecca; akin to D. kreek, Icel. kriki crack, nook; cf. W. crig crack, crigyll ravine, creek. Cf. Crick, Crook.] 1. A small inlet or bay, narrower and extending further into the land than a cove; a recess in the shore of the sea, or of a river.

Each creek and cavern of the dangerous shore. Cowper.

They discovered a certain creek, with a shore. Acts xxvii. 39.

2. A stream of water smaller than a river and larger than a brook.

Lesser streams and rivulets are denominated creeks. Goldsmith.

3. Any turn or winding.

The passages of alleys, creeks, and narrow lands. Shak.

Creek"fish (kr?k"f?sh), n. (Zo÷l.) The chub sucker.

Creeks (krēks), n. pl.; sing. Creek. (Ethnol.) A tribe or confederacy of North American Indians, including the Muskogees, Seminoles, Uchees, and other subordinate tribes. They formerly inhabited Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.

Creek"y (krēk"&ybreve;), a. Containing, or abounding in, creeks; characterized by creeks; like a creek; winding. "The creeky shore." Spenser.

Creel (krēl), n. [Gael. craidhleag basket, creel.]

1. An osier basket, such as anglers use. Sir W. Scott.

2. (Spinning) A bar or set of bars with skewers for holding paying-off bobbins, as in the roving machine, throstle, and mule.

Creep (krēp), v. t. [imp. Crept (kr&ebreve;pt) (Crope (krōp), Obs.); p. p. Crept; p. pr. & vb. n. Creeping.] [OE. crepen, creopen, AS. creˇpan; akin to D. kruipen, G. kriechen, Icel. krjupa, Sw. krypa, Dan. krybe. Cf. Cripple, Crouch.] 1. To move along the ground, or on any other surface, on the belly, as a worm or reptile; to move as a child on the hands and knees; to crawl.

Ye that walk The earth, and stately tread, or lowly creep. Milton.

2. To move slowly, feebly, or timorously, as from unwillingness, fear, or weakness.

The whining schoolboy . . . creeping, like snail, Unwillingly to school. Shak.

Like a guilty thing, I creep. Tennyson.

3. To move in a stealthy or secret manner; to move imperceptibly or clandestinely; to steal in; to insinuate itself or one's self; as, age creeps upon us.

The sophistry which creeps into most of the books of argument. Locke.

Of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women. 2. Tim. iii. 6.

4. To slip, or to become slightly displaced; as, the collodion on a negative, or a coat of varnish, may creep in drying; the quicksilver on a mirror may creep.

5. To move or behave with servility or exaggerated humility; to fawn; as, a creeping sycophant.

To come as humbly as they used to creep. Shak.

6. To grow, as a vine, clinging to the ground or to some other support by means of roots or rootlets, or by tendrils, along its length. "Creeping vines." Dryden.

7. To have a sensation as of insects creeping on the skin of the body; to crawl; as, the sight made my flesh creep. See Crawl, v. i., 4.

8. To drag in deep water with creepers, as for recovering a submarine cable.

Creep, n. 1. The act or process of creeping.

2. A distressing sensation, or sound, like that occasioned by the creeping of insects.

A creep of undefinable horror. Blackwood's Mag.

Out of the stillness, with gathering creep, Like rising wind in leaves. Lowell.

3. (Mining) A slow rising of the floor of a gallery, occasioned by the pressure of incumbent strata upon the pillars or sides; a gradual movement of mining ground.

Creep"er (krēp"&etilde;r), n. 1. One who, or that which, creeps; any creeping thing.

Standing waters are most unwholesome, . . . full of mites, creepers; slimy, muddy, unclean. Burton.

2. (Bot.) A plant that clings by rootlets, or by tendrils, to the ground, or to trees, etc.; as, the Virginia creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia).

3. (Zo÷l.) A small bird of the genus Certhia, allied to the wrens. The brown or common European creeper is C. familiaris, a variety of which (var. Americana) inhabits America; -- called also tree creeper and creeptree. The American black and white creeper is Mniotilta varia.

4. A kind of patten mounted on short pieces of iron instead of rings; also, a fixture with iron points worn on a shoe to prevent one from slipping.

5. pl. A spurlike device strapped to the boot, which enables one to climb a tree or pole; -- called often telegraph creepers.

6. A small, low iron, or dog, between the andirons.

7. pl. An instrument with iron hooks or claws for dragging at the bottom of a well, or any other body of water, and bringing up what may lie there.

8. Any device for causing material to move steadily from one part of a machine to another, as an apron in a carding machine, or an inner spiral in a grain screen.

9. pl. (Arch.) Crockets. See Crocket.

Creep"hole` (-h?l`), n. 1. A hole or retreat into which an animal may creep, to escape notice or danger.

2. A subterfuge; an excuse.

Creep"ie (-&ybreve;), n. A low stool. [Scot.]

Creep"i*ness (-&ibreve;-n&ebreve;s), n. An uneasy sensation as of insects creeping on the skin.

She felt a curious, uneasy creepiness. Mrs. Alexander.

Creep"ing, a. 1. Crawling, or moving close to the ground. "Every creeping thing." Gen. vi. 20.

2. Growing along, and clinging to, the ground, or to a wall, etc., by means of rootlets or tendrils.

Casements lined with creeping herbs. Cowper.

Ceeping crowfoot (Bot.), a plant, the Ranunculus repens. -- Creeping snowberry, an American plant (Chiogenes hispidula) with white berries and very small round leaves having the flavor of wintergreen.

Creep"ing*ly, adv. by creeping slowly; in the manner of a reptile; insidiously; cunningly.

How slily and creepingly did he address himself to our first parents. South.

Cree"ple (krē"p'l), n. [See Cripple.] 1. A creeping creature; a reptile. [Obs.]

There is one creeping beast, or long creeple (as the name is in Devonshire), that hath a rattle at his tail that doth discover his age. Morton (1632).

2. One who is lame; a cripple. [Obs.]

Thou knowest how lame a creeple this world is. Donne.

Creep"y (krēp"&ybreve;), a. Crawly; having or producing a sensation like that caused by insects creeping on the skin. [Colloq.]

One's whole blood grew curdling and creepy. R. Browning.

Crees (krēz), n. pl.; sing. Cree. (Ethnol.) An Algonquin tribe of Indians, inhabiting a large part of British America east of the Rocky Mountains and south of Hudson's Bay.

Creese (krēs), n. [Malay. kris.] A dagger or short sword used by the Malays, commonly having a serpentine blade. [Written also crease and kris.]

From a Malayan creese to a sailor's jackknife. Julian Hawthorne.

||CrÚ`mail`lŔre" (kr?`m?`ly?r" or - m?`y?r"), n. [F.] (Fort.) An indented or zigzaged line of intrenchment.

||Cre*mas"ter (kr?-m?s"t?r), n. [NL., from Gr. &?;&?;&?;, fr. &?;&?;&?;&?; to hang.] 1. (Anat.) A thin muscle which serves to draw up the testicle.

2. (Zo÷l.) The apex of the last abdominal segment of an insect.

Crem`as*ter"ic (kr?m`3s-t?r"?k), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the cremaster; as, the cremasteric artery.

Cre"mate (kr?"m?t or kr?-m?t"), v. t. [L. crematus, p. p. of cremare to burn; cf. Skr. cr&?; to cook.] To burn; to reduce to ashes by the action of fire, either directly or in an oven or retort; to incremate or incinerate; as, to cremate a corpse, instead of burying it.

Cre*ma"tion (kr?-m?"sh?n), n. [L. crematio.] A burning; esp., the act or practice of cremating the dead.

Without cremation . . . of their bodies. Sir T. Browne.

Cre*ma"tion*ist, n. One who advocates the practice of cremation.

Cre*ma"tor (-t?r), n. [L.] One who, or that which, cremates or consumes to ashes.

{ Crem`a*to"ri*um (kr?m`?-t?"r?-?m), Crem"a*to*ry (kr?m"?-t?-r?), } n.; pl. Crematoriums (-ŭmz), Crematories (-r&?;z). [NL. crematorium, fr. L. cremator.] A furnace for cremating corpses; a building containing such a furnace.

Crem"a*to*ry, a. Pertaining to, or employed in, cremation.

Crem"o*carp (kr&ebreve;m"&osl;*kńrp or krē"m&osl;-), n. [Gr. kremanny`nai to hang + karpo`s fruit.] (Bot.) The peculiar fruit of fennel, carrot, parsnip, and the like, consisting of a pair of carpels pendent from a supporting axis.

Cre*mo"na (kr&esl;*mō"n˙), n. A superior kind of violin, formerly made at Cremona, in Italy.

||Cre"mor (kr?"m?r), n. [L. CF. Cream.] Cream; a substance resembling cream; yeast; scum.

Crem"o*sin (kr?m"?-s?n), n. See Crimson. [Obs.]

Crems (kr&ebreve;mz), n. See Krems.

{ Cre"nate (krē"n&asl;t), Cre"na*ted (krē"n&asl;*t&ebreve;d), } a. [L. crena notch. See Cranny.] (Bot.) Having the margin cut into rounded teeth notches, or scallops.

Cre*na"tion (kr?-n?"sh?n), n. 1. (Bot.) A rounded tooth on the edge of a leaf.

2. The condition of being crenate.

Cren"a*ture (kr?n"?-t?r or kr?"n?-; 135), n. 1. (Bot.) A rounded tooth or notch of a crenate leaf, or any part that is crenate; -- called also crenelle.

2. The state of being crenated or notched.

Cre*nel" (kr?-n?l"), n. See Crenelle.

Cren"el*ate (kr?n"?l-?t or kr?"n?l-?t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crenelated (- ?`t?d); p. pr. & vb. n. Crenelating (- ?`t?ng).] [LL. crenellare, kernellare: cf. F. cr&?;neler to indent. See Crenelle.] [Written also crenellate.] 1. To furnish with crenelles.

2. To indent; to notch; as, a crenelated leaf.

Crenelated molding (Arch.), a kind of indented molding used in Norman buildings.

Cren`el*a"tion (-?"sh?n), n. The act of crenelating, or the state of being crenelated; an indentation or an embrasure. [Written also crenellation.]

{ Cre*nelle", Cre*nel" } (kr?-n?l"), n. [OF. crenel, F. cr&?;neau, LL. crenellus, kernellus, dim. (prob.) fr. L. crena notch. See Crenny.] 1. An embrasure or indentation in a battlement; a loophole in a fortress; an indentation; a notch. See Merlon, and Illust. of Battlement.

2. (Bot.) Same as Crenature.

Cre*nelled" (kr&?;-n&?;ld") a. (Bot.) Same as Crenate.

{ Cren"gle (kr?n"g'l), Cren"kle (-k'l), } n. See Cringle.

{ Cren"u*late (kr?n"?-l?t), Cren"u*la`ted (- l?`t?d), } a. [Dim. of crenate.] (Bot.) Minutely crenate.

Cren`u*la"tion (-l?"sh?n), n. 1. A minute crenation.

2. The state of being minutely scalloped.

Cre"ole (kr?"?l), n. [F. cr&?;ole, Sp. criollo, from an American negro word, perh. a corruption of a Sp. criadillo, dim. of criado servant, formerly also, child, fr. L. creatus, p. p. of creare to create. Cf. Create.] One born of European parents in the American colonies of France or Spain or in the States which were once such colonies, esp. a person of French or Spanish descent, who is a native inhabitant of Louisiana, or one of the States adjoining, bordering on the Gulf of of Mexico.

&fist; "The term creole negro is employed in the English West Indies to distinguish the negroes born there from the Africans imported during the time of the slave trade. The application of this term to the colored people has led to an idea common in some parts of the United States, though wholly unfounded, that it implies an admixture greater or less of African blood." R. Hildreth.

&fist; "The title [Creole] did not first belong to the descendants of Spanish, but of French, settlers, But such a meaning implied a certain excellence of origin, and so came early to include any native of French or Spanish descent by either parent, whose nonalliance with the slave race entitled him to social rank. Later, the term was adopted by, not conceded to, the natives of mixed blood, and is still so used among themselves. . . . Besides French and Spanish, there are even, for convenience of speech, 'colored' Creoles; but there are no Italian, or Sicilian, nor any English, Scotch, Irish, or 'Yankee' Creoles, unless of parentage married into, and themselves thoroughly proselyted in, Creole society." G. W. Cable.

Cre"ole (kr?"?l), a. Of or pertaining to a Creole or the Creoles.

&fist; In New Orleans the word Creole is applied to any product, or variety of manufacture, peculiar to Louisiana; as, Creole ponies, chickens, cows, shoes, eggs, wagons, baskets, etc.

{ Cre*o"le*an (kr?-?"l?-a]/>n), Cre*o"li*an }, a. Pertaining to, or characteristic of, the Creoles. -- n. A Creole.

Cre"o*sol (kr?"?-s?l), n. [Cresote + phenol.] (Chem.) A colorless liquid resembling phenol or carbolic acid, homologous with pyrocatechin, and obtained from beechwood tar and gum guaiacum. [Written also creasol.]

Cre"o*sote (kr?"?-s?t), n. [Gr. &?;&?;&?;, gen. &?;&?;&?;, flesh + &?;&?;&?; to preserve.] (Chem.) Wood-tar oil; an oily antiseptic liquid, of a burning smoky taste, colorless when pure, but usually colored yellow or brown by impurity or exposure. It is a complex mixture of various phenols and their ethers, and is obtained by the distillation of wood tar, especially that of beechwood.

&fist; It is remarkable as an antiseptic and deodorizer in the preservation of wood, flesh, etc., and in the prevention of putrefaction; but it is a poor germicide, and in this respect has been overrated. Smoked meat, as ham, owes its preservation and taste to a small quantity of creosote absorbed from the smoke to which it is exposed. Carbolic acid is phenol proper, while creosote is a mixture of several phenols.

Coal-tar creosote (Chem.), a colorless or yellow, oily liquid, obtained in the distillation of coal tar, and resembling wood-tar oil, or creosote proper, in composition and properties.

Cre"o*sote, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Creosoted (-s?"t?d); p. pr. & vb. n. Creosoting.] To saturate or impregnate with creosote, as timber, for the prevention of decay.

{ Cre"pance (kr?"pans), Cre"pane (kr?"p?n), } n. [Cf. L. crepare to crack.] (Far.) An injury in a horse's leg, caused by the shoe of one hind foot striking and cutting the other leg. It sometimes forms an ulcer.

||Crŕpe (kr?p), n. Same as Crape.

Crep"i*tant (kr?p"?-tant), a. [See Crepitate.] Having a crackling sound; crackling; rattling.

Crepitant rale (Med.), a peculiar crackling sound audible with inspiration in pneumonia and other lung disease.

Crep"i*tate (kr&?;p"&?;-t&?;t), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Crepitated (- t&?;`t&?;d); p. pr. & vb. n. Crepitating (-t&?;`t&?;ng).] [L. crepitatus, p. p. of crepitare to crackle, v. intensive of crepare to crack. Cf. Crevice.] To make a series of small, sharp, rapidly repeated explosions or sounds, as salt in fire; to crackle; to snap.

Crep`i*ta"tion (kr?p`?-t?"sh?n), n. [Cf. F. crÚpitation.] 1. The act of crepitating or crackling.

2. (Med.) (a) A grating or crackling sensation or sound, as that produced by rubbing two fragments of a broken bone together, or by pressing upon cellular tissue containing air. (b) A crepitant rÔle.

||Crep"i*tus (kr?p"?-t?s), n. [L., fr. crepare to crack.] (Med.) (a) The noise produced by a sudden discharge of wind from the bowels. (b) Same as Crepitation, 2.

||Cre"pon (kr?"p?n; F. kr?`p?n"), n. [F.] A thin stuff made of the finest wool or silk, or of wool and silk.

Crept (kr&ebreve;pt), imp. & p. p. of Creep.

{ Cre*pus"cle (kr&esl;*pŭs"s'l), Cre*pus"cule (kr&esl;*pŭs"k&usl;l), } n. [L. crepusculum, fr. creper dusky, dark: cf. F. crÚpuscule.] Twilight. Bailey.

{ Cre*pus"cu*lar (-k?-l?r), Cre*pus"cu*lous (-l?s), } a. [Cf. F. crÚpusculaire.] 1. Pertaining to twilight; glimmering; hence, imperfectly clear or luminous.

This semihistorical and crepuscular period. Sir G. C. Lewis.

2. (Zo÷l.) Flying in the twilight or evening, or before sunrise; -- said certain birds and insects.

Others feed only in the twilight, as bats and owls, and are called crepuscular. Whewell.

Cre*pus"cu*line (-l&ibreve;n), a. Crepuscular. [Obs.] Sprat.

Cres"cence (kr&ebreve;s"sens), n. [See Crescent.] Increase; enlargement. [Obs.]

And toward the moon's attractive crescence bend. H. Brooke.

Cres*cen"do (kr?s-s?n"d?; It. kr?-sh?n"d?), a. & adv. [It., from crescere to increase. See Crescent.] (Mus.) With a constantly increasing volume of voice; with gradually increasing strength and fullness of tone; -- a direction for the performance of music, indicated by the mark, or by writing the word on the score.

Cres*cen"do, n. (Mus.) (a) A gradual increase in the strength and fullness of tone with which a passage is performed. (b) A passage to be performed with constantly increasing volume of tone.

Cres"cent (kr&ebreve;s"sent), n. [OE. cressent, cressaunt, crescent (in sense 1), OF. creissant increasing, F. croissant, p. pr. of croţtre, OF. creistre, fr. L. crescere to increase, v. incho.; akin to creare to create. See Create, and cf. Accrue, Increase, Crescendo.] 1. The increasing moon; the moon in her first quarter, or when defined by a concave and a convex edge; also, applied improperly to the old or decreasing moon in a like state.

2. Anything having the shape of a crescent or new moon.

3. A representation of the increasing moon, often used as an emblem or badge; as: (a) A symbol of Artemis, or Diana. (b) The ancient symbol of Byzantium or Constantinople. Hence: (c) The emblem of the Turkish Empire, adopted after the taking of Constantinople.

The cross of our faith is replanted, The pale, dying crescent is daunted. Campbell.

4. Any one of three orders of knighthood; the first instituted by Charles I., king of Naples and Sicily, in 1268; the second by RenÚ of Anjou, in 1448; and the third by the Sultan Selim III., in 1801, to be conferred upon foreigners to whom Turkey might be indebted for valuable services. Brande & C.

5. (Her.) The emblem of the increasing moon with horns directed upward, when used in a coat of arms; -- often used as a mark of cadency to distinguish a second son and his descendants.

Cres"cent (kr&ebreve;s"sent), a. 1. Shaped like a crescent.

Astarte, queen of heaven, with crescent horns. Milton.

2. Increasing; growing.

O, I see the crescent promise of my spirit hath not set. Tennyson.

Cres"cent, v. t. 1. To form into a crescent, or something resembling a crescent. [R.] Anna Seward.

2. To adorn with crescents.

Cres*cen"tic (kr&ebreve;s*s&ebreve;n"t&ibreve;k), a. Crescent-shaped. "Crescentic lobes." R. Owen.

Cres"cent*wise` (kr&ebreve;s"sent*wīz`), adv. In the form of a crescent; like a crescent. Tennyson.

Cres"cive (kr?s"s?v), a. [L. crescere to increase.] Increasing; growing. [R.]

Unseen, yet crescive in his faculty. Shak.

Cre"sol (krē"sōl), n. [From Creosote.] (Chem.) Any one of three metameric substances, CH3.C6H4.OH, homologous with and resembling phenol. They are obtained from coal tar and wood tar, and are colorless, oily liquids or solids. [Called also cresylic acid.]

Cre*sor"cin (kr?-s?r"s?n), n. (Chem.) Same as Isorcin.

Cress (kr&ebreve;s), n.; pl. Cresses (kr&ebreve;s"&ebreve;z). [OE. ces, cresse, kers, kerse, AS. cresse, cerse; akin to D. kers, G. kresse, Dan. karse, Sw. krasse, and possibly also to OHG. chresan to creep.] (Bot.) A plant of various species, chiefly cruciferous. The leaves have a moderately pungent taste, and are used as a salad and antiscorbutic.

&fist; The garden cress, called also peppergrass, is the Lepidium sativum; the water cress is the Nasturtium officinale. Various other plants are sometimes called cresses.

To strip the brook with mantling cresses spread. Goldsmith.

Bitter cress. See under Bitter. -- Not worth a cress, or "not worth a kers." a common old proverb, now turned into the meaningless "not worth a curse." Skeat.

Cres*selle" (kr?s-s?l"), n. [F. crÚcelle rattle.] (Eccl.) A wooden rattle sometimes used as a substitute for a bell, in the Roman Catholic church, during the latter part of Holy Week, or the last week of Lent.

Cres"set (kr?s"s?t), n. [OF. crasset, cresset, sort of lamp or torch; perh. of Dutch or German origin, and akin to E. cruse, F. creuset crucible, E. crucible.] 1. An open frame or basket of iron, filled with combustible material, to be burned as a beacon; an open lamp or firrepan carried on a pole in nocturnal processions.

Starry lamps and blazing cressets, fed With naphtha and asphaltus. Milton.

As a cresset true that darts its length Of beamy luster from a tower of strength. Wordsworth.

2. (Coopering) A small furnace or iron cage to hold fire for charring the inside of a cask, and making the staves flexible. Knight.

Cress"y (kr&ebreve;s"&ybreve;), a. Abounding in cresses.

The cressy islets white in flower. Tennyson.

Crest (kr&ebreve;st), n. [OF. creste, F. crŕte, L. crista.] 1. A tuft, or other excrescence or natural ornament, growing on an animal's head; the comb of a cock; the swelling on the head of a serpent; the lengthened feathers of the crown or nape of bird, etc. Darwin.

[Attack] his rising crest, and drive the serpent back. C. Pitt.

2. The plume of feathers, or other decoration, worn on a helmet; the distinctive ornament of a helmet, indicating the rank of the wearer; hence, also, the helmet.

Stooping low his lofty crest. Sir W. Scott.

And on his head there stood upright A crest, in token of a knight. Gower.

3. (Her.) A bearing worn, not upon the shield, but usually above it, or separately as an ornament for plate, liveries, and the like. It is a relic of the ancient cognizance. See Cognizance, 4.

4. The upper curve of a horse's neck.

Throwing the base thong from his bending crest. Shak.

5. The ridge or top of a wave.

Like wave with crest of sparkling foam. Sir W. Scott.

6. The summit of a hill or mountain ridge.

7. The helm or head, as typical of a high spirit; pride; courage.

Now the time is come That France must vail her lofty plumed crest. Shak.