encrust, incrust, v.
(ɛn-, ɪnˈkrʌst)
[Prob. of twofold formation: (1) ad. Fr. incrust-er or It. incrustare (used in sense 1), ad. L. incrustāre, f. in upon + crusta crust. (2) f. en-1, in- + crust, or ad. Fr. encroûter (in 16th c. encrouster) of equivalent formation. The en- and in- forms are both in common use, without any differentiation of sense; the Dictionaries mostly favour incrust, but encrust appears to be the more frequent in actual use.]
1. trans. To ornament (a surface) by overlaying it with a crust of precious material. Also to encrust into.
| α 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. I. xii. 262 The outside of the edifice was encrusted with marble. 1825 Bro. Jonathan I. 142 As if the whole tree were encrusted with molten jewellery. a 1859 Macaulay Hist. Eng. V. 196 A staircase encrusted with jasper. 1875 Fortnum Maiolica xi. 101 The painted and incised bacini, which are encrusted into her church towers. |
| β 1641 Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 35 The church of the Jesuits is..a glorious fabric without and within, wholly incrusted with marble. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. III. liii. 295 The walls were incrusted with marbles of various colours. 1885 Stone Chr. bef. Christ 44 Vases incrusted with diamonds and lapis lazuli. |
2. To cover with a crust or thin coating (
e.g. of rust, sedimentary deposits, etc.). Also of scales, shellfish, etc.: To form a crust or hard coating on (a surface).
| α 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 313 In those dreary countries, the instruments..that are kept in the pocket..are quickly encrusted. 1806 Med. Jrnl. XV. 535 He now was encrusted with one scab over every part of his face and body. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. I. 482 Scales encrusting the soft part of the dorsal and anal fins. 1854 F. C. Bakewell Geol. 87 Sulphur is found..encrusting the sides in considerable quantities. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 433 The blocks of masonry..are now encrusted by shell fish and sea weeds. |
| β a 1691 [see encrusting ppl. a.]. 1695 Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth iv. (1723) 219 Some Rivers do thus bring forth..mineral Matter in great Quantity so as to cover and incrust the Stones, Sticks and other Bodyes lying therein. 1733 Pope Hor. Sat. ii. i. 73 Let Jove incrust Swords, pikes, and guns, with everlasting rust. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters II. 23 Such..waters..incrust vessels in which they are contained. 1863 Fr. Kemble Resid. Georgia 23 Their bare feet being literally incrusted with dirt. |
b. fig.| α 1806 Southey Lett. (1856) I. 359 Some rejected Christ as unfit nucleus to encrust with their fables. 1861 Mill Utilit. iii. 42 The simple fact is..encrusted over with collateral associations. |
| β 1742 Young Nt. Th. i. 157 How was my heart incrusted by the world! 1837 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. III. xvii. 265 Satan..may incrust it with his own evil creations. 1858 Holland Titcomb's Lett. viii. 80 You get habits of thought and life that incrust you. 1873 H. Rogers Orig. Bible viii. (1875) 326 Many languages..were still so incrusted with barbarism. |
3. To form into a crust, deposit as a crust.
| 1726 Thomson Winter 756 The winter snow Incrusted hard. 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville (1849) 151 It was sufficiently incrusted to bear a pedestrian. |
4. a. intr. for refl. To form itself into a crust.
b. intr. To form or deposit a crust
upon.
| 1725 Huxham in Phil. Trans. XXXIII. 381 The Pustules..did not incrust yellow. 1754 Ibid. XLIX. 26 This chanel of fire..is covered by the..lava, which cools and incrusts on its surface. 1865 Pusey Truth Eng. Ch. 30 A mass of unauthorized traditional glosses..had encrusted over the Thirty-nine Articles. |
5. To shut up, imprison as within a crust.
rare.
| a 1711 Ken Poet. Wks. (1721) IV. 528 Tho' I should..In Alps of Ice encrusted, freeze. 1830 Sir J. Herschel Stud. Nat. Phil. 79 The statue might be conceived encrusted in its marble envelope. |