English edit

Etymology edit

1706, from French crucial, a medical term for ligaments of the knee (which cross each other), from Latin crux, crucis (cross) (English crux), from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (to turn, to bend).

The meaning “decisive, critical” is extended from a logical term, Instantias Crucis, adopted by Francis Bacon in his influential Novum Organum (1620); the notion is of cross fingerboard signposts at forking roads, thus a requirement to choose.[1]

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈkɹuː.ʃəl/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: cru‧cial
  • Rhymes: -uːʃəl

Adjective edit

crucial (comparative more crucial, superlative most crucial)

  1. Essential or decisive for determining the outcome or future of something; extremely important; vital.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:important
    The battle of Tali-Ihantala in 1944 is one of the crucial moments in the history of Finland.
    A secure supply of crude oil is crucial for any modern nation, let alone a superpower.
    • 2014 March 7, Nicole Vulser, “Perfume manufacturers must cope with the scarcity of precious supplies”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 190, number 13, page 30:
      The perfume industry is facing a major problem: maintaining constant levels of quality is crucial, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain a regular supply of all the necessary natural ingredients.
    • 2018, Clarence Green, James Lambert, “Advancing disciplinary literacy through English for academic purposes: Discipline-specific wordlists, collocations and word families for eight secondary subjects”, in Journal of English for Academic Purposes, volume 35, →DOI, page 106:
      Vocabulary provides a foundation from which grammar, phonology, and morphology emerge, and in a subject area it provides access to conceptual knowledge. Vocabulary selection for pedagogical purposes is therefore crucial.
    • 2021 October 1, A Falun Dafa practitioner in France, “Using Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to Guide My Young Students”, in Minghui[1]:
      Language is crucial because it is the best weapon against violence. When children don’t have the words to express their thoughts, they raise their fists.
  2. (archaic) Cruciform or cruciate; cross-shaped.
  3. (slang, especially Jamaica, Bermuda) Very good; excellent; particularly applied to reggae music.
    Delbert Wilkins is the most crucial pirate radio DJ in Brixton.

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Descendants edit

  • French: crucial (semantic loan)
  • Italian: cruciale
  • Spanish: crucial

Translations edit

References edit

  1. ^ Francis Bacon (1620) Novum Organum [New Organon] (in Latin), volume Two, XXXVI: “Inter praerogativas instantiarum, ponemus loco decimo quarto Instantias Crucis; translato vocabulo a Crucibus, quae erectae in biviis indicant et signant viarum separationes.”

French edit

Etymology edit

From a root of Latin crux (cross). The sense of "crucial" is a semantic loan from English crucial.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

crucial (feminine cruciale, masculine plural cruciaux, feminine plural cruciales)

  1. cruciform
  2. crucial, critical, vital

Descendants edit

Further reading edit

Portuguese edit

Etymology edit

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation edit

  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /kɾu.siˈaw/ [kɾu.sɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /kɾuˈsjaw/ [kɾuˈsjaʊ̯]
 

  • Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
  • Hyphenation: cru‧ci‧al

Adjective edit

crucial m or f (plural cruciais)

  1. crucial

Quotations edit

For quotations using this term, see Citations:crucial.

Derived terms edit

Further reading edit

  • crucial” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913

Romanian edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from French crucial.

Adjective edit

crucial m or n (feminine singular crucială, masculine plural cruciali, feminine and neuter plural cruciale)

  1. pivotal

Declension edit

Further reading edit

Spanish edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from English crucial.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): (Spain) /kɾuˈθjal/ [kɾuˈθjal]
  • IPA(key): (Latin America) /kɾuˈsjal/ [kɾuˈsjal]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: cru‧cial

Adjective edit

crucial m or f (masculine and feminine plural cruciales)

  1. crucial

Derived terms edit

Further reading edit