Chapter 98

Croconic acid (Chem.), a yellow crystalline substance, C5O3(OH)2, obtained from potassium carboxide, rhodizonic acid, and various phenol and quinone derivatives of benzene, and forming yellow or orange colored salts.

Cro"cose (krō"kōs), n. [Gr. kro`kos saffron.] (Chem.) A white crystalline sugar, metameric with glucose, obtained from the coloring matter of saffron. [Written also crokose.]

Cro"cus (krō"kŭs), n. [L., saffron, fr. Gr. kro`kos; cf. Heb. karkōm, Ar. kurkum, Skr. ku&ndot;kuma.] 1. (Bot.) A genus of iridaceous plants, with pretty blossoms rising separately from the bulb or corm. C. vernus is one of the earliest of spring-blooming flowers; C. sativus produces the saffron, and blossoms in the autumn.

2. (Chem.) A deep yellow powder; the oxide of some metal calcined to a red or deep yellow color; esp., the oxide of iron (Crocus of Mars or colcothar) thus produced from salts of iron, and used as a polishing powder.

Crocus of Venus (Old Chem.), oxide of copper.

Crť"sus (krē"sŭs), n. [L., fr. G. Kroi^sos.] A king of Lydia who flourished in the 6th century b. c., and was renowned for his vast wealth; hence, a common appellation for a very rich man; as, he is a veritable Crťsus.

Croft (kr&obreve;ft; 115), n. [AS. croft; akin to D. kroft hillock; cf. Gael. croit hump, croft.] A small, inclosed field, adjoining a house; a small farm.

A few small crofts of stone-encumbered ground. Wordsworth.

Croft"er (-?r), n. One who rents and tills a small farm or holding; as, the crofters of Scotland.

Croft"ing, n. 1. Croftland. [Scot.] Jamieson.

2. (Textile Manuf.) Exposing linen to the sun, on the grass, in the process of bleaching.

Croft"land (-l?nd), n. Land of superior quality, on which successive crops are raised. [Scot.] Jamieson.

Crois (krois). n. [OF.] See Cross, n. [Obs.]

{ Croi*sade" (kroi-s?d"), Croi*sa"do (- s?"d?), } n. [F. criosade. See Crusade.] A holy war; a crusade. [Obs.] Bacon.

Croise (krois), n. [F. croisÚ crusader, fr. OF. crois, F. croix, cross. See Cross.] 1. A pilgrim bearing or wearing a cross. [Obs.]

2. A crusader. [Obs.]

The conquests of the croises extending over Palestine. Burke.

||Crois`san`tÚ" (krw?`s?n`t?"), a. [F. croissant, adj. & n., crescent.] (Her.) Terminated with crescents; -- said of a cross the ends of which are so terminated.

Cro"ker (krō"k&etilde;r), n. [Gr. kro`kos saffron.] A cultivator of saffron; a dealer in saffron. [Obs.] Holinshed.

||Cro"ma (krō"m&adot;), n. [It.] (Mus.) A quaver. [Obs.]

Crom"lech (kr&obreve;m"l&ebreve;k), n. [W. cromlech; crom bending or bent, concave + llech a flat stone; akin to Ir. cromleac.] (ArchŠol.) A monument of rough stones composed of one or more large ones supported in a horizontal position upon others. They are found chiefly in countries inhabited by the ancient Celts, and are of a period anterior to the introduction of Christianity into these countries.

Cro*mor"na (kr?-m?r"n?), n. [F. cromorne (cf. It. cromorno0, fr. G. krummhorn crooked horn, cornet, an organ pipe turned like a trumpet; krumm crooked + horn horn.] (Mus.) A certain reed stop in the organ, of a quality of tone resembling that of the oboe. [Corruptly written cromona.]

Crone (krōn), n. [OD. kronie, karonie, an old sheep, OF. carogne, F. charogne, carrion (also F. carogne illnatured woman.). See Carrion, and Crony.] 1. An old ewe. [Obs.] Tusser.

2. An old woman; -- usually in contempt.

But still the crone was constant to her note. Dryden.

3. An old man; especially, a man who talks and acts like an old woman. [R.]

The old crone [a negro man] lived in a hovel, . . . which his master had given him. W. Irving.

A few old battered crones of office. Beaconsfield.

Cro"nel (kr?"n?l), n. [Cf. Coronel spearhead, Crown.] The iron head of a tilting spear.

Cro"net (kr?"n?t), n. [Cf. Coronet, Crownet.] The coronet of a horse.

Cro"ni*an (kr?"n?-a]/>n), a. [Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?; Saturnian, fr. &?;&?;&?;&?; Saturn.] Saturnian; -- applied to the North Polar Sea. [R.] Milton.

Cron"stedt*ite (kr?n"st?t-?t), n. (Min.) A mineral consisting principally of silicate of iron, and crystallizing in hexagonal prisms with perfect basal cleavage; -- so named from the Swedish mineralogist Cronstedt.

Cro"ny (kr?"n?), n.; pl. Cronies (-n&?;z). [Orig., an old woman. See Crone.] 1. A crone. [Obs.] "Marry not an old crony." Burton.

2. An intimate companion; a familiar frend. [Colloq.]

He soon found his former cronies, though all rather the worse for the wear and tear of time. W. Irving.

Croo"dle (kr??"d'l), v. i. [Cf. Cruddle, Crudle.] 1. To cower or cuddle together, as from fear or cold; to lie close and snug together, as pigs in straw. [Prov. Eng.] Wright. Forby.

A dove to fly home her nest and croodle there. C. Kingsley.

2. To fawn or coax. [Obs.]

3. To coo. [Scot.]

Crook (kr&oocr;k), n. [OE. crok; akin to Icel. kr&onac;kr hook, bend, SW. krok, Dan. krog, OD. krooke; or cf. Gael. crocan crook, hook, W. crwca crooked. Cf. Crosier, Crotchet, Crutch, Encroach.] 1. A bend, turn, or curve; curvature; flexure.

Through lanes, and crooks, and darkness. Phaer.

2. Any implement having a bent or crooked end. Especially: (a) The staff used by a shepherd, the hook of which serves to hold a runaway sheep. (b) A bishop's staff of office. Cf. Pastoral staff.

He left his crook, he left his flocks. Prior.

3. A pothook. "As black as the crook." Sir W. Scott.

4. An artifice; trick; tricky device; subterfuge.

For all yuor brags, hooks, and crooks. Cranmer.

5. (Mus.) A small tube, usually curved, applied to a trumpet, horn, etc., to change its pitch or key.

6. A person given to fraudulent practices; an accomplice of thieves, forgers, etc. [Cant, U.S.]

By hook or by crook, in some way or other; by fair means or foul.

Crook (kr??k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crooked (kr??kt); p. pr. & vb. n. Crooking.] [OE. croken; cf. Sw. kr&?;ka, Dan. kr&?;ge. See Crook, n.] 1. To turn from a straight line; to bend; to curve.

Crook the pregnant hinges of the knee. Shak.

2. To turn from the path of rectitude; to pervert; to misapply; to twist. [Archaic]

There is no one thing that crooks youth more than such unlawfull games. Ascham.

What soever affairs pass such a man's hands, he crooketh them to his own ends. Bacon.

Crook, v. i. To bend; to curve; to wind; to have a curvature. " The port . . . crooketh like a bow." Phaer.

Their shoes and pattens are snouted, and piked more than a finger long, crooking upwards. Camden.

Crook"back` (kr&oocr;k"băk`), n. A crooked back; one who has a crooked or deformed back; a hunchback.

Crook"back`, a. Hunched. Shak.

Crook"bill` ( -b?l`), n. (Zo÷l) A New Zealand plover (Anarhynchus frontalis), remarkable for having the end of the beak abruptly bent to the right.

Crook"ed (kr??k"?d), a. 1. Characterized by a crook or curve; not straight; turning; bent; twisted; deformed. "Crooked paths." Locke.

he is deformed, crooked, old, and sere. Shak.

2. Not straightforward; deviating from rectitude; distorted from the right.

They are a perverse and crooked generation. Deut. xxxii. 5.

3. False; dishonest; fraudulent; as, crooked dealings.

Crooked whisky, whisky on which the payment of duty has been fraudulently evaded. [Slang, U.S.] Barlett.

Crook"ed*ly, adv. In a curved or crooked manner; in a perverse or untoward manner.

Crook"ed*ness, n. The condition or quality of being crooked; hence, deformity of body or of mind; deviation from moral rectitude; perverseness.

Crook"en (kr??k"'n), v. t. To make crooked. [Obs.]

Crookes" tube` (kr??ks" t?b`). (Phys.) A vacuum tube in which the exhaustion is carried to a very high degree, with the production of a distinct class of effects; -- so called from W. Crookes who introduced it.

Croon (kr&oomac;n), v. i. [OE. croinen, cf. D. kreunen to moan. √24.] 1. To make a continuous hollow moan, as cattle do when in pain. [Scot.] Jamieson.

2. To hum or sing in a low tone; to murmur softly.

Here an old grandmother was crooning over a sick child, and rocking it to and fro. Dickens.

Croon, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crooned (kr&oomac;nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Crooning.] 1. To sing in a low tone, as if to one's self; to hum.

Hearing such stanzas crooned in her praise. C. BrontÚ.

2. To soothe by singing softly.

The fragment of the childish hymn with which he sung and crooned himself asleep. Dickens.

Croon, n. 1. A low, continued moan; a murmur.

2. A low singing; a plain, artless melody.

Crop (kr&obreve;p), n. [OE. crop, croppe, craw, top of a plant, harvest, AS. crop, cropp, craw, top, bunch, ear of corn; akin to D. krop craw, G. kropf, Icel. kroppr hump or bunch on the body, body; but cf. also W. cropa, croppa, crop or craw of a bird, Ir. & Gael. sgroban. Cf. Croup, Crupper, Croup.] 1. The pouchlike enlargement of the gullet of birds, serving as a receptacle for food; the craw.

2. The top, end, or highest part of anything, especially of a plant or tree. [Obs.] "Crop and root." Chaucer.

3. That which is cropped, cut, or gathered from a single felld, or of a single kind of grain or fruit, or in a single season; especially, the product of what is planted in the earth; fruit; harvest.

Lab'ring the soil, and reaping plenteous crop, Corn, wine, and oil. Milton.

4. Grain or other product of the field while standing.

5. Anything cut off or gathered.

Guiltless of steel, and from the razor free, It falls a plenteous crop reserved for thee. Dryden.

6. Hair cut close or short, or the act or style of so cutting; as, a convict's crop.

7. (Arch.) A projecting ornament in carved stone. Specifically, a finial. [Obs.]

8. (Mining.) (a) Tin ore prepared for smelting. (b) Outcrop of a vein or seam at the surface. Knight.

9. A riding whip with a loop instead of a lash.

Neck and crop, altogether; roughly and at once. [Colloq.]

Crop, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cropped (kr?pt); p. pr. & vb. n. Cropping.] 1. To cut off the tops or tips of; to bite or pull off; to browse; to pluck; to mow; to reap.

I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one. Ezek. xvii. 22.

2. Fig.: To cut off, as if in harvest.

Death . . . .crops the growing boys. Creech.

3. To cause to bear a crop; as, to crop a field.

Crop, v. i. To yield harvest.

To crop out. (a) (Geol.) To appear above the surface, as a seam or vein, or inclined bed, as of coal. (b) To come to light; to be manifest; to appear; as, the peculiarities of an author crop out. -- To crop up, to sprout; to spring up. "Cares crop up in villas." Beaconsfield.

Crop"-ear` (kr?p"?r`), n. A person or animal whose ears are cropped.

Crop"-eared` (kr?p"?rd`), a. Having the ears cropped.

Crop"ful (-f?l), a. Having a full crop or belly; satiated. Milton.

Crop"per (kr&obreve;p"p&etilde;r), n. 1. One that crops.

2. A variety of pigeon with a large crop; a pouter.

3. (Mech.) A machine for cropping, as for shearing off bolts or rod iron, or for facing cloth.

4. A fall on one's head when riding at full speed, as in hunting; hence, a sudden failure or collapse. [Slang.]

Crop"sick` (kr?"s?k`), a. Sick from excess in eating or drinking. [Obs.] "Cropsick drunkards." Tate. -- Crop"sick`ness, n. [Obs.] Whitlock.

Crop"-tailed` (-t?ld`), a. Having the tail cropped.

Cro*quet" (kr?-k?"), n. [From French; cf. Walloon croque blow, fillip. F. croquet a crisp biscuit, croquer to crunch, fr. croc a crackling sound, of imitative origin. Croquet then properly meant a smart tap on the ball.]

1. An open-air game in which two or more players endeavor to drive wooden balls, by means of mallets, through a series of hoops or arches set in the ground according to some pattern.

2. The act of croqueting.

Cro*quet", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Croqueted (-k?d); p. pr. & vb. n. Croqueting (-k?"?ng).] In the game of croquet, to drive away an opponent's ball, after putting one's own in contact with it, by striking one's own ball with the mallet.

||Cro*quette" (kr?-k?t"), n. [F., fr. croquer to crunch.] (Cookery) A ball of minced meat, fowl, rice, or other ingredients, highly seasoned, and fried.

Crore (krōr), n. [Hind. karo&rsdot;, Skr. ko&tsdot;i.] Ten millions; as, a crore of rupees (which is nearly $5,000,000). [East Indies] Malcolm.

Cro"sier (kr?"zh?r), n. [OE. rocer, croser, croyser, fr. croce crosier, OF. croce, croche, F. crosse, fr. LL. crocea, crocia, from the same German or Celtic sourse as F. croc hook; akin to E. crook.] The pastoral staff of a bishop (also of an archbishop, being the symbol of his office as a shepherd of the flock of God.

&fist; The true shape of the crosier was with a hooked or curved top; the archbishop's staff alone bore a cross instead of a crook, and was of exceptional, not of regular form. Skeat.

Cro"siered (-zh?rd), a. Bearing a crosier.

Cros"let (kr?s"l?t; 115), n. See Crosslet.

Cross (kr&obreve;s; 115), n. [OE. crois, croys, cros; the former fr. OF. crois, croiz, F. croix, fr. L. crux; the second is perh. directly fr. Prov. cros, crotz. fr. the same L. crux; cf. Icel. kross. Cf. Crucial, Crusade, Cruise, Crux.]

1. A gibbet, consisting of two pieces of timber placed transversely upon one another, in various forms, as a T, or +, with the horizontal piece below the upper end of the upright, or as an X. It was anciently used in the execution of criminals.

Nailed to the cross By his own nation. Milton.

2. The sign or mark of the cross, made with the finger, or in ink, etc., or actually represented in some material; the symbol of Christ's death; the ensign and chosen symbol of Christianity, of a Christian people, and of Christendom.

The custom of making the sign of the cross with the hand or finger, as a means of conferring blessing or preserving from evil, is very old. Schaff-Herzog Encyc.

Before the cross has waned the crescent's ray. Sir W. Scott.

Tis where the cross is preached. Cowper.

3. Affiction regarded as a test of patience or virtue; trial; disappointment; opposition; misfortune.

Heaven prepares a good man with crosses. B. Jonson.

4. A piece of money stamped with the figure of a cross, also, that side of such a piece on which the cross is stamped; hence, money in general.

I should bear no cross if I did bear you; for I think you have no money in your purse. Shak.

5. An appendage or ornament or anything in the form of a cross; a badge or ornamental device of the general shape of a cross; hence, such an ornament, even when varying considerably from that form; thus, the Cross of the British Order of St. George and St. Michael consists of a central medallion with seven arms radiating from it.

6. (Arch.) A monument in the form of a cross, or surmounted by a cross, set up in a public place; as, a market cross; a boundary cross; Charing Cross in London.

Dun-Edin's Cross, a pillared stone, Rose on a turret octagon. Sir W. Scott.

7. (Her.) A common heraldic bearing, of which there are many varieties. See the Illustration, above.

8. The crosslike mark or symbol used instead of a signature by those unable to write.

Five Kentish abbesses . . . .subscribed their names and crosses. Fuller.

9. Church lands. [Ireland] [Obs.] Sir J. Davies.

10. A line drawn across or through another line.

11. Hence: A mixing of breeds or stock, especially in cattle breeding; or the product of such intermixture; a hybrid of any kind.

Toning down the ancient Viking into a sort of a cross between Paul Jones and Jeremy Diddler. Lord Dufferin.

12. (Surveying) An instrument for laying of offsets perpendicular to the main course.

13. (Mech.) A pipe-fitting with four branches the axes of which usually form's right angle.

Cross and pile, a game with money, at which it is put to chance whether a coin shall fall with that side up which bears the cross, or the other, which is called pile, or reverse; the game called heads or tails. -- Cross bottony or bottonÚ. See under Bottony. -- Cross estoilÚ (Her.). a cross, each of whose arms is pointed like the ray of a star; that is, a star having four long points only. -- Cross of Calvary. See Calvary, 3. -- Southern cross. (Astron.) See under Southern. -- To do a thing on the cross, to act dishonestly; -- opposed to acting on the square. [Slang] -- To take up the cross, to bear troubles and afflictions with patience from love to Christ.

Cross (kr&obreve;s), a. 1. Not parallel; lying or falling athwart; transverse; oblique; intersecting.

The cross refraction of the second prism. Sir I. Newton.

2. Not accordant with what is wished or expected; interrupting; adverse; contrary; thwarting; perverse. "A cross fortune." Jer. Taylor.

The cross and unlucky issue of my design. Glanvill.

The article of the resurrection seems to lie marvelously cross to the common experience of mankind. South.

We are both love's captives, but with fates so cross, One must be happy by the other's loss. Dryden.

3. Characterized by, or in a state of, peevishness, fretfulness, or ill humor; as, a cross man or woman.

He had received a cross answer from his mistress. Jer. Taylor.

4. Made in an opposite direction, or an inverse relation; mutually inverse; interchanged; as, cross interrogatories; cross marriages, as when a brother and sister marry persons standing in the same relation to each other.

Cross action (Law), an action brought by a party who is sued against the person who has sued him, upon the same subject matter, as upon the same contract. Burrill. -- Cross aisle (Arch.), a transept; the lateral divisions of a cruciform church. -- Cross axle. (a) (Mach.) A shaft, windlass, or roller, worked by levers at opposite ends, as in the copperplate printing press. (b) A driving axle, with cranks set at an angle of 90░ with each other. -- Cross bedding (Geol.), oblique lamination of horizontal beds. -- Cross bill. See in the Vocabulary. -- Cross bitt. Same as Crosspiece. -- Cross bond, a form of bricklaying, in which the joints of one stretcher course come midway between those of the stretcher courses above and below, a course of headers and stretchers intervening. See Bond, n., 8. -- Cross breed. See in the Vocabulary. -- Cross breeding. See under Breeding. -- Cross buttock, a particular throw in wrestling; hence, an unexpected defeat or repulse. Smollet. -- Cross country, across the country; not by the road. "The cross-country ride." Cowper. -- Cross fertilization, the fertilization of the female products of one physiological individual by the male products of another, -- as the fertilization of the ovules of one plant by pollen from another. See Fertilization. -- Cross file, a double convex file, used in dressing out the arms or crosses of fine wheels. -- Cross fire (Mil.), lines of fire, from two or more points or places, crossing each other. -- Cross forked. (Her.) See under Forked. -- Cross frog. See under Frog. -- Cross furrow, a furrow or trench cut across other furrows to receive the water running in them and conduct it to the side of the field. -- Cross handle, a handle attached transversely to the axis of a tool, as in the augur. Knight. -- Cross lode (Mining), a vein intersecting the true or principal lode. -- Cross purpose. See Cross-purpose, in the Vocabulary. -- Cross reference, a reference made from one part of a book or register to another part, where the same or an allied subject is treated of. -- Cross sea (Naut.), a chopping sea, in which the waves run in contrary directions. -- Cross stroke, a line or stroke across something, as across the letter t. -- Cross wind, a side wind; an unfavorable wind. -- Cross wires, fine wires made to traverse the field of view in a telescope, and moved by a screw with a graduated head, used for delicate astronomical observations; spider lines. Fixed cross wires are also used in microscopes, etc.

Syn. -- Fretful; peevish. See Fretful.

Cross, prep. Athwart; across. [Archaic or Colloq.]

A fox was taking a walk one night cross a village. L'Estrange.

To go cross lots, to go across the fields; to take a short cut. [Colloq.]

Cross, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crossed (kr?st; 115); p. pr. & vb. n. Crossing.] 1. To put across or athwart; to cause to intersect; as, to cross the arms.

2. To lay or draw something, as a line, across; as, to cross the letter t.

3. To pass from one side to the other of; to pass or move over; to traverse; as, to cross a stream.

A hunted hare . . . crosses and confounds her former track. I. Watts.

4. To pass, as objects going in an opposite direction at the same time. "Your kind letter crossed mine." J. D. Forbes.

5. To run counter to; to thwart; to obstruct; to hinder; to clash or interfere with.

In each thing give him way; cross him in nothing. Shak.

An oyster may be crossed in love. Sheridan.

6. To interfere and cut off; to debar. [Obs.]

To cross me from the golden time I look for. Shak.

7. To make the sign of the cross upon; -- followed by the reflexive pronoun; as, he crossed himself.

8. To cancel by marking crosses on or over, or drawing a line across; to erase; -- usually with out, off, or over; as, to cross out a name.

9. To cause to interbreed; -- said of different stocks or races; to mix the breed of.

To cross one's path, to oppose one's plans. Macaulay.

Cross, v. i. 1. To lie or be athwart.

2. To move or pass from one side to the other, or from place to place; to make a transit; as, to cross from New York to Liverpool.

3. To be inconsistent. [Obs.]

Men's actions do not always cross with reason. Sir P. Sidney.

4. To interbreed, as races; to mix distinct breeds.

If two individuals of distinct races cross, a third is invariably produced different from either. Coleridge.

Cross"-armed` (kr?s"?rmd), a. With arms crossed.

Cross"-band`ed (-b?nd`?d), a. A term used when a narrow ribbon of veneer is inserted into the surface of any piece of furniture, wainscoting, etc., so that the grain of it is contrary to the general surface.

Cross"bar` (-bńr`), n. A transverse bar or piece, as a bar across a door, or as the iron bar or stock which passes through the shank of an anchor to insure its turning fluke down. Russell.

Crossbar shot, a projectile which folds into a sphere for loading, but on leaving the gun expands to a cross with a quarter ball at the end of each arm; -- used in naval actions for cutting the enemy's rigging.

Cross"barred` (-bńrd`), a. 1. Secured by, or furnished with, crossbars. Milton.

2. Made or patterned in lines crossing each other; as, crossbarred muslin.

Cross"beak` (-bēk`), n. (Zo÷l.) Same as Crossbill.

Cross"beam` (-bēm`). n. 1. (Arch.) A girder.

2. (Naut.) A beam laid across the bitts, to which the cable is fastened when riding at anchor.

Cross"-bear`er (-b?r`?r), n. (R. C. Ch.) A subdeacon who bears a cross before an archbishop or primate on solemn occasions.

Cross"bill` (-b&ibreve;l`). (Law) A bill brought by a defendant, in an equity or chancery suit, against the plaintiff, respecting the matter in question in that suit. Bouvier.

&fist; In criminal practice, cross bills of indictment for assault, in which the prosecutor in once case is the defendant in another, may be tried together.

Cross"bill`, n. (Zo÷l.) A bird of the genus Loxia, allied to the finches. Their mandibles are strongly curved and cross each other; the crossbeak.

Cross"-birth` (-b&etilde;rth`), n. (Med.) Any preternatural labor, in which the body of the child lies across the pelvis of the mother, so that the shoulder, arm, or trunk is the part first presented at the mouth of the uterus.

Cross"bite` (-bīt`), n. A deception; a cheat. [Obs.]

Cross"bite", v. t. To deceive; to trick; to gull. [Obs.]

Cross"bones` (-bōnz`), n. pl. A representation of two of the leg bones or arm bones of a skeleton, laid crosswise, often surmounted with a skull, and serving as a symbol of death.

Crossbones, scythes, hourglasses, and other lugubrious emblems of mortality. Hawthorne.