crux
[ kruhks ]
/ krʌks /
noun, plural crux·es, cru·ces [kroo-seez] /ˈkru siz/.
a vital, basic, decisive, or pivotal point: The crux of the trial was his whereabouts at the time of the murder.
a cross.
something that torments by its puzzling nature; a perplexing difficulty.
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Who Invented The Crossword?Arthur Wynne is usually credited with inventing the crossword. His first puzzle, called a word-cross, was published in December 1913 in the New York World. But there may have been other predecessors to the crossword: in England in the 19th century and an Italian version called per passare il tempo, which means “to pass the time.” Word crosses eventually became known as crosswords, and their creators …
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Origin of crux
1635–45; < Latin: stake, scaffold, or cross used in executions, torment; figurative senses perhaps < New Latin crux (interpretum) (commentators') torment, a difficult passage in a text; cf. crucial
Definition for crux (2 of 2)
Origin of Crux
< Latin: a cross
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for crux
British Dictionary definitions for crux (1 of 2)
crux
/ (krʌks) /
noun plural cruxes or cruces (ˈkruːsiːz)
a vital or decisive stage, point, etc (often in the phrase the crux of the matter)
a baffling problem or difficulty
mountaineering the most difficult and often decisive part of a climb or pitch
a rare word for cross
Word Origin for crux
C18: from Latin: cross
British Dictionary definitions for crux (2 of 2)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for crux
crux
1814, "cross," from Latin crux "cross" (see cross (n.)). Figurative use for "a central difficulty," is older, from 1718; perhaps from Latin crux interpretum "a point in a text that is impossible to interpret," in which the literal sense is something like "crossroads of interpreters." Extended sense of "central point" is from 1888.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for crux
crux
[ krŭks, kruks ]
n. pl. crux•es
A cross or a crosslike structure.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.