▪ I. crisp, a.
(krɪsp)
Forms: 1– crisp; also 1 cyrps, 3–5 crips, 4–7 crispe, 5 cryps(e, cryspe, kyrspe.
[OE. crisp, cyrps, ad. L. crispus curled. Cf. OF. crespe curled, mod.F. crêpe; but this does not appear to have influenced the Eng. word in form. The sense development of branch II is not clear: cf. however crimp a., and the quot. from Cotgr. Some onomatopœic influence associated with the action of pronouncing crisp is to be suspected.]
I. In senses of L. crispus.
1. Of the hair: Curly; now applied esp. to stiff, closely curling, or frizzy hair; † also, having or wearing such hair.
| c 900 Bæda's Hist. v. ii, Se ᵹunga wæs ᵹeworden hale lichoman..and hæfde crispe loccas fægre. c 1000 in Thorpe Hom. I. 456 (Bosw.) He is blæcfexede and cyrps. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 319/687 Blac with cripse here. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1307 His crispe heer lyk rynges was yronne. 1398 Trevisa Barth. de P.R. iv. ii. (1495) 80 Lytyll heere and cryps as in blomens countree. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 179 Wynde alle þese þingis & frote þe heeris and þei wolen bicome crisp. 1583 Stanyhurst Aeneis ii. (Arb.) 65 A certeyn lightning on his headtop glistered harmelesse, His crisp locks frizeling. 1626 Bacon Sylva §852 Buls are more Crispe upon the Fore-Head than Cowes. 1777 Cook Voy. S. Pole iii. vi, Their hair..black and brown, growing to a tolerable length, and very crisp and curly. 1859 R. F. Burton Centr. Afr. in Jrnl. Geogr. Soc. XXIX. 317 The hair of these races has invariably a crisp, short, and stiff curl. |
2. a. Having a surface curled or fretted into minute waves, ripples, folds or wrinkles.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. de P.R. (Tollem. MS.) xiii. xv, The ponde..with crispe water and calm, and nouȝt with stronge wyndes. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xv. 168 The peper..þei putten it vpon an owven and þere it waxeth blak and crisp [Roxb. ed. blakk and runklid]. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 199 The kyrspe skyn of hyr forheed, Is drawyn up and on trustily bownde. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. iii. 106 Swift Seuernes flood..hid his crispe-head in the hollow banke. 1610 ― Temp. iv. i. 130 You Nimphs cald Nayades of y⊇ windring brooks..Leaue your crispe channels. 1823 Byron Juan ix. lxxviii, The elder ladies' wrinkles curl'd much crisper. 1877 Black Green Past. xxix. (1878) 235 The crisp white crest of the running waves. |
b. Bot. = crispate, crisped 2 b.
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Leaf, Crisp leaf..that which is undulated or folded over and over at the edge. 1776 Withering Brit. Plants (1796) III. 847 Hypnum crispum..leaves crisp, transversely waved. |
† 3. Applied to some fabrics: perh. of crape-like texture. Cf. crisp n. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 28018 (Cott.) Yee leuedis..wit curchefs crisp and bendes bright. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 401 A crisp breche wel fayn [crispa femoralia]. 1393 Will in A. Gibbons Early Linc. Wills (1888) 85 Omnes meos crispcouerchifes. |
† 4. Apparently = Smooth, shining, clear. Obs.
[Cf. Cotgr. ‘Crespu, curled, frizled, ruffled, crisped; sleeked, shining’; ‘Cresper..also, to sleeke, make to shine or glitter’.]
| 1565 Golding Ovid's Met. ix. (1593) 211 My cleere crispe legs [L. crura micantia] he striveth for to catch. 1607 Shakes. Timon iv. iii. 183 All th' abhorred births below crispe Heauen. 1623 Fletcher Bloody Bro. iv. ii, You must leave your neat crisp Claret, and fall to your Cyder a while. |
II. 5. a. Brittle or ‘short’ while somewhat hard or firm in structure (usually as a good quality); said esp. of hard things which have little cohesion and are easily crushed by the teeth, etc.
| 1530 Palsgr. 501/1, I crasshe, as a thynge dothe that is cryspe or britell bytwene ones tethe. 1611 Cotgr., Cresper, to crackle or creake, as new shooes; or drie stickes that are laid in the fire; also, to crash between the teeth (a thing thats crispe or brittle). 1626 Bacon Sylva §231 In Frostie weather..the Wood or String of the Instrument..is made more Crispe, and so more porous and hollow. 1749 F. Smith Voy. Disc. N.-W. Pass. II. 15 The Snow was of a greyish Colour, crisp on the Top. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xvi, If the cakes at tea eat short and crisp, they were made by Olivia. 1822 Lamb Elia, Roast Pig, The crisp..not over-roasted crackling. 1866 Treas. Bot. 79/1 Celery..the sweet, crisp, wholesome, and most agreeable of our cultivated vegetables. |
b. From crisp snow or frost, transferred by association to a brisk frosty day, to frosty air, and thence to bracing air generally.
| 1869 M. A. Barker Station Life N. Zeal. xv. (1874) 109 The peculiar fresh crisp feeling which the atmosphere always has here the moment the sun sets. 1873 Mrs. Alexander Wooing o't xxv, All that Christmas Day ought to be, clear, crisp, bright. 1883 A. K. Green Hand & Ring xxxiv, The crisp frosty air had put everybody in a good humour. |
6. transf. and fig. Applied vaguely to anything possessing qualities more or less characteristic of crisp substances: a. stiff, firm, as opposed to limp.
| 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunters iv. 29 The ‘crop, crop’ of our horses shortening the crisp grass. a 1859 L. Hunt (Webster), It [laurel] has been plucked nine months, and yet looks as hale and crisp as if it would last ninety years. 1868 Dilke Greater Brit. I. 133 The ‘blue grass’ has high vitality..this crisp turf at once springs up, and holds the ground for ever. |
b. fig. Short, sharp, brisk, decided in manner. (Cf. an analogous use of ‘flabby’ as the opposite.) Also, clean, neat; clearly defined.
| 1814 Mackintosh in Life (1836) II. 300 Ward said Constant was very ‘crisp’. 1857 W. Collins Dead Secret ii. i. (1861) 31 Such a crisp touch on the piano. 1873 Hale In His Name iii. 10 What he said was crisp and decided. 1884 Athenæum 6 Dec. 739/2 The crisp draughtsmanship of Mr. H. P. Riviere's Arch of Constantine, Rome. 1884 H. D. Traill in Macm. Mag. Oct. 441/2 His crisp antithetic manner is the perfection of style. 1937 D. Jones In Parenthesis iv. 97 The sky overhead looked crisp as eggshell. 1961 Listener 21 Dec. 1069/1 The superbly detailed capitals, as crisp now as they were 150 years ago. 1963 Ibid. 24 Jan. 160/1 A rational, crisp, glass-and-rectangular-framework architecture. |
7. Comb., as crisp-haired, crisp-withered.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 3757 Crispe herit was the kyng, colouret as gold. 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. ii. vii. 200 The Ethiopian black, flat-nosed and crisp-haired. 1868 Ld. Houghton in Select. fr. Wks. 201 Crisp-wither'd hung the honourable leaves. |
▪ II. crisp, n.
(krɪsp)
Also 5–6 crysp, kirsp, kyrsp, 6–7 crispe.
[app. f. the adj.; cf. 16th c. F. crespe crape or material for veils, mod.F. crêpe crape. In the entries in the Testamenta Eboracensia ‘cryspe’ appears to interchange with ‘cypres’ = Cyprus lawn: see Cyprus.]
† 1. Some thin or delicate textile fabric, used esp. by women for veils or head-coverings; ? a crape-like material. Cf. crisp a. 3. Obs.
| 1397 Test. Ebor. I. 220 Flameolam me' de crispo. 1402 Ibid. I. 289, ij flameola de cipres. 1415 Ibid. I. 382 Flameolum de krespe. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 313 And Nelle with hir nyfyls of crisp and of sylke. 1498 Ld. Treas. Acc. Scot. I. 392 Item, for xxiiij elne of kyrsp to hir for ilk elne iijs iiijd. 1500–20 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 23 Curches..of kirsp cleir and thin. c 1600 J. Burel in Watson Coll. Sc. Poems ii. 13 (Jam.) A robe Of clenely crispe, side to his kneis. 1619 Purchas Microcosmus xxvii. 268 The new deuised names of Stuffes and Colours, Crispe, Tamet, Plush..Callimanco, Sattinisco. |
† 2. A head-covering or veil made of this material. Obs.
| 1584 Hudson tr. Du Bartas' Judith iv. (1608) 57 Upon her head a silver crispe she pind Loose waving on her shoulders with the wind. 1593 Greene Mamillia ii. Poems (Rtldg.) 316 Needless noughts, as crisps and scarfs, worn a la morisco. 1597 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 113 Ane cleinlie crispe hang ouir his eyes [Latinized by Dempster Involvens nivea de sindone lumina velo]. |
† 3. A crisp kind of pastry made by dropping batter into boiling fat. [So OF. crispes in W. de Biblesworth.] Obs.
| ? c 1390 Form of Cury 73 Cryspes. a 1422 Dinner Hen. V in Q. Eliz. Acad., etc. 91 Cryspes fryez. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 44 Cryspez. 1450 Ibid. 93 Cryspes. |
† 4. A curl (of hair); esp. a short or close curl. Obs.
| 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 325 They..weare their hayre pretty long, and about their crispes wreath a valuable Sash or Tulipant. c 1680 Roxb. Ball. VI. 278 Those bright locks of hair Spreading o're each ear, Every crisp and curle. |
5. The ‘crackling’ of roast pork. Obs. exc. dial.
| 1675 T. Duffet Mock Tempest ii. ii, Methinks I hear a great she Devil, call for [a] Groats worth of the Crispe of my Countenance. 1847–78 Halliwell, Crisp, pork crackling. South. |
6. An overdone piece of anything cooked, fried, or roasted; usually in phr. to a crisp. Also transf. orig. U.S.
| a 1852 F. M. Whitcher Widow Bedott Papers (1856) xxix, One time, they'll burn their bread to a crisp. 1852 H. Melville Pierre xii. ii. 263 Burn it till it shriveled to a crisp! 1899 W. C. Morrow Bohem. Paris 44 It was some⁓time before Haidon could realize that he was not burned to a crisp. 1911 H. S. Harrison Queed xxi. 258, I became absorbed in a book I was reading, and Jim came back to find the bacon a crisp. 1959 A. Huxley Let. 29 Nov. (1969) 881 Temperatures are in the eighties—..the vegetation..is burnt to a crisp. 1968 K. Weatherly Roo Shooter 35 The hot weather continued and the feed had dried to a crisp. |
7. In full potato crisp. A thin sliver of potato fried until crisp and eaten cold. Usu. in pl. of such food produced commercially.
| 1929 Star 21 Aug. 13/3 Potato Crisp Factory. 1935 H. Nicolson Let. 3 Sept. (1966) I. 213 We went to Harry's Bar..and there was a Pekinese being fed with crisps. 1950 T. S. Eliot Cocktail Party i. 12 Potato crisps? No I can't endure them. 1953 ‘N. Blake’ Dreadful Hollow 43 It [sc. a public bar] held only one occupant, who was eating out of a packet of crisps. 1961 ‘T. Hinde’ For Good of Company iv. 41 She..sloped her little red mouth and let a fingerful of crisps into it. |
▸ Cookery (chiefly N. Amer.). A type of dessert consisting of fruit baked with a crumble topping (cf. crumble n. 2b). Freq. with modifying word indicating the type of fruit used, as apple crisp, peach crisp, etc.
| 1916 Wellsboro (Pa.) Gaz. 20 July 6/6 Apple Crisps... Work together the other ingredients..until crumbly, then spread over apple mixture. Bake 30 minutes. 1922 Boston Sunday Globe 1 Jan. 47/6 Baking powder biscuit, apple crisp, tea. 1944 N.Y. Times 1 Aug. 12/6 Peach Crisp. 6 to 8 peaches, peeled and sliced... 1½ cups crushed corn flakes. 1989 Bon Appétit Sept. 42/2 Dessert, a crisp that uses the end-of-season's ripest plums and nectarines. 2001 Today's Parent (Electronic ed.) June 72 Kids who won't eat a raw apple may clamour for..apple crisp. |
▪ III. crisp, v.
(krɪsp)
[f. crisp a.: cf. L. crispāre to curl, crisp, crimp, f. crispus.]
1. a. trans. To curl into short, stiff, wavy folds, or crinkles; to crimp.
| 1340 [see crisped 1]. 1565–73 Cooper Thesaurus, Calamistrum..a pinne of wodde or yvory, to trime or crispe heare. 1617 B. Jonson Vis. Delight, As Zephyr blows..The rivers run as smoothed by his hand: Only their heads are crisped by his stroke. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 52 A blacke gowne..lined quite through with white silke cipres, pleated and crisped about the necke, with a deepe fringe. 1644 Bulwer Chirol. To Rdr. A v b, We..wrinkle our forehead in dislike, crispe our nose in anger. 1747 Hervey Winterpiece (1813) 365 It has..crisped the travellers locks. 1821 Byron Sardan. i. ii. 6 There is A cooling breeze which crisps the broad clear river. 1837 T. Hook Jack Brag vi, Every curl was crisped into its own peculiar place. 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps iii. §22. 90 The leaf being..rendered liny by bold marking of its ribs and veins, and by turning up and crisping its edges. |
b. To fold (cloth) which has just been woven.
| 1892 in Eng. Dial. Dict. 1927 Daily Tel. 21 June 8 The cloth may be crisped (folded lengthwise), rolled or lapped. |
2. intr. To curl in short stiff curls.
| 1583 T. Watson Centurie of Loue xx, Although his beard were crisping hard. 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. xxxvi. §12. 247 The leaues..do somewhat curle or crispe. 1777 tr. Forster Voy. round World I. 17 Their black hair naturally falls in ringlets, and begins to crisp in some individuals. 1815 Scott Guy M. iii, The quiet bay, whose little waves, crisping and sparkling to the moonbeams, rolled, etc. 1852–9 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 10/1 The shell..exposed to heat..crisping up..like horn. |
3. a. trans. To make crisp, ‘short’ or brittle.
| [1658 Willsford Nature's Secrets 52 The ground..will be hoary..the grass crisped with the Frost.] 1815 Scott Guy M. xxviii, The snow..crisped by..a severe frost. c 1854 Thackeray Wolves & Lamb 1, She crisped my buttered toast. |
b. transf. and fig. Cf. crisp a. 5 b, 6.
| 1833 Arnold Lett. in Stanley Life I. vii. 286 When we live in uncongenial society, we are apt to crisp and harden our outward manner, to save our real feelings from exposure. 1877 Mrs. Oliphant Makers Flor. i. 3 The fresh island air crisped by the sea. |
4. intr. To become crisp.
| 1805 A. Scott Poems 63 (Jam.) The nights were lang, Wi' frost the yird was crispin'. 1849 C. Brontë Shirley ix, The air chilled at sunset, the ground crisped. |
5. trans. To crush a firm but brittle substance. rare.
| 1824 S. E. Ferrier Inher. lxviii, Hearing the sound of wheels crisping the gravel as they rolled slowly round. |