▪ I. crate, n.
(kreɪt)
Also 7 creat, (? 8 crade).
[app. ad. L. crāt-is hurdle.
But connexion with Du. krat basket, and its cognates is not impossible. Cf. esp. dial. Du. krat, kret, a ladder-shaped frame attached to the back of a wagon to extend its area.]
† 1. A hurdle or frame of parallel cross bars. Obs.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 72 b, Saynt Laurence whan he laye rostynge on the yren crate. |
2. a. A large case, basket, or hamper of wicker-work, for carrying crockery, glass, or other goods; any case or box of open bars or slats of wood, for carrying fruit, etc.
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 239/2 The Women of Lapland..bear on their backs things like Pedlars Creats. ? a 1750 Jack Horner 11 Six jolly blades..Who on their shoulders carry'd crades, And glasses in the same. 1775 Johnson Journ. W. Isl. Scot. Wks. 1825 IX. 80, I have seen a horse carrying home the harvest on a crate. 1796 Hull Advertiser 6 Feb. 3/2 A sloop loaden with crates of earthen⁓ware. 1840 Hood Kilmansegg cv, The dish and the plate, Taken out of a Staffordshire crate. 1882 P. Robinson Under the Gun iii. v. 205 A wicker crate filled with ducks. |
| fig. 1859 Tennyson Vivien 623 So lean..the skin Clung but to crate and basket, ribs and spine. |
b. The frame in which a glazier carries his glass; also a measure of glass; see quot.
| 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 420 The glass is bought by the crate, which consists of twelve tables of the best. 1832 G. R. Porter Porcelain & Gl. 186 Twelve of these plates make up what is called a crate or side of glass. |
3. An aeroplane, especially one of obsolescent design. Also applied to other vehicles. slang (orig. Services').
| 1928 Daily Mail 7 May 6/5 (citing U.S. air terms) Hay Wire Outfit.—A crude plane. Crate.—Somewhat better..but just an old crate’. 1934 Webster, Crate. Slang. a. An airplane. b. An automobile. 1935 C. Day Lewis Time to Dance 41 We'll fly this bloody crate till it falls to bits at our feet. 1937 F. E. Baily Treat them Gently iv. 86 His Rolls 'll give you more respect in the eyes of the reporters than my old crate would. 1940 N. Monks Squadrons Up! i. 22 Shooting up..pilots who were flying ‘tomato crates’. 1957 Times 11 Oct. 11/6 You must travel in an antiquated two-engined crate which goes puttering over Central Asia at about 90 miles an hour. 1959 [see aviate v.]. |
4. Comb. as crate-float, crate-maker.
| 1725 Lond. Gaz. No. 6402/4 Ralph Edwards..Crate⁓maker. 1871 Daily News 16 Sept., The cratemakers' strike in the Staffordshire potteries is at an end. 1903 A. Bennett Leonora ii. 48 The crate-floats, drawn by swift shaggy ponies and driven by men who balanced themselves erect on two thin boards. |
▪ II. [crate
misreading in some editions of trate, early northern form of trot n.2, old woman.
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. 201 (To Jesus) Com furthe, old crate, Belyfe; We shalle lede the a trot. 14.. How March. dyd Wyfe betray 213 in Hazl. E.P.P. (1864) I. 206 Hyt was thy wyfe, that olde crate.] |
▪ III. crate, v.
[f. the n.]
trans. To pack in a crate or framework. Hence ˈcrated ppl. a., ˈcrating vbl. n.
| 1871 E. Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster (1872) xi. 65 The boys thought 'twas funny to crate me. 1897 Outing (U.S.) XXX. 366/1 Crated and swathed in white clothes, it appeared like a mummy. 1900 Kipling in Daily Express 20 June 4/5 Neatly-piled boxes of rivets and a mass of crated ironwork. 1901 ‘C. Holland’ Mousmé 265 The heavier articles, a man came and crated for me. 1924 Glasgow Herald 19 Apr. 7 The old engine was hoisted on board and crated. 1963 Ann. Reg. 1962 525 The Soviet Government..has issued a new order, for the dismantling of the weapons which you describe as ‘offensive’, their crating and return to the Soviet Union. |