cruel 
= Svn Barbarous, savage, ferocious, brutal, merciless, 
unmerciful, pitiless, unfeeling, full, ruthless, truculent, 
bloodthirsty. Inexorable, unrelenting, 
cruel (krb" el), orfi'. Very; extremely. [Colloq. 
or prov. Eng.] 
I would now aske ye how ye like the play, 
But as it is with school boys, can not say. 
I'm cruel fearful. 
Fletcher (and another), Two Noble Kinsmen, Epil. 
Met Captain Brown of the Rosebush : at which he was 
cnirl angry. Pepys, Diary, July 31, 1662. 
cruellt n. An obsolete form of crewseV-, cruise 1 
cruelly (kro'el-li), adv. [< ME. crueliche, crew- 
clly ; < cruel + -ly 2 .} 1. In a cruel manner; 
with cruelty ; inhumanly ; mercilessly. 
Because he cruelly oppressed, ... he shall die in his 
iniquity. Ezek. xviii - 18 - 
2. Painfully ; with severe pain or torture. 
The Northern Irish-Scotts, . . . whose arrowes . . . 
enter into an armed man or horse most cruelly. 
Spenser, State of Ireland. 
3. Mischievously; extremely; greatly. [Colloq. 
or prov. Eng.] 
Which shows how cruelly the country are led astray in 
following the town. Spectator, No. 129. 
cruelness(kro'el-nes), n. [< ME. cruelnesse; < 
cruel + -ness.} Cruelty; inhumanity. [Rare.] 
Shames not to be with guiltlesse bloud defylde, 
But taketh glory in her cruelnesse. 
Spenser, Sonnets, xx. 
cruels, . pi- See crewete. 
cruelty (kro'el-ti), n. ; pi. cruelties (-tiz). [< cru i s i e (kro'si), . 
ME. crueltie, cruelte, < OF. cruelte, erualte, cru- 
aute, F. cruaut^ = Pr. cruzeltat, crueltat = Srj. 
cnifldad=Pg. crueldade = It. crudeltA, crudelita 
1374 
see cross 1 , v. and w.] To sail to and fro, or from 
crummy 
The latter, however, had pickfd up his mimhs, was 
learning his duty, and getting strength and c Hdenue 
daily. It. 11. Dana, Jr., liefore the Mast, p. -J74. 
place to place, with a definite purpose and un- __ _ __ ? _ _____ _ 
der orders, open or sealed ; specifically, to sail w /!.. \ ,. r< ME rrummen - LU 
in search of an enemy's ships, or for the protec- < ">> "' fc \\ MK c ! 
tion of commerce, or as a pirate : as, the admiral 
cruined between the Bahama islands and Cuba ; 
a pirate was cruising in the gulf of Mexico. 
" We cruise now for vengeance ! 
Give way ! " cried Estienne. 
Whittier, St. John. 
(kroz), n. [< cruise^, v.} A voyage 
made in various courses, as in search of an 
enemy's ships, for the protection of commerce, 
or for pleasure. 
In his first cruise, 'twere pity he should founder. 
Smollett, Reprisals, Epil. 
cruise 2 (kroz), . Same as cruse. 
cruiser (kro'zer), n. [< cruise* + -er 1 ; = 1). 
kruiser, etc.] A person who or a ship which 
= G. krunicn, kriimen ; from the noun.] 
1 . To break into small pieces with the fingers : 
as, to crumb bread into milk. 
If any man eate of your dish, crom you therein no 
Bread. Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 76. 
2f. To crumble bread into ; prepare or thicken 
with crumbs of bread. 
The next was a dish of milk well cruinln'il. 
Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress. 
Mrs. Bibber here took pity on me, and cnnnm'd me a 
mess of gruel. Dryden, Wild (lallant, i. 1. 
3. In cookery, to cover or dress with bread- 
crumbs, as meat, etc. ; bread. 
crumb 2 t, Same as crum/i^ . 
crumb-brush (krum ' brush), it. A brush for 
sweeping crumbs off 1 " 
... ., i n BweepuoK orumu uii tn tame, 
cruises; specifically, an armed vessel specially ^ th (krum - kloth) . lp A cloth, 
nnw.vMic.fi. S.V. fitt + n r,y.o-\r 1,Y\/vtl Q, tmorviv'e fATTl- v ***** w^y * \ 
commissioned to prey upon an enemy's com- 
merce, to protect the commerce of the state to 
which it belongs, to pursue an enemy's armed 
ships, or for other purposes. 
The profitable trade . . . having been completely cut 
off by the Portugeeze cruisers. 
Sir J. E. Tennent, Ceylon, vi. 1. 
Vessels designed for Confederate cruisers had been al- 
lowed to sail from English ports. 
(i. S. Merriam, S. Bowles, II. 119. 
[Dim. of cruise 2 = cruse.} 
__ simple form of lamp, consisting of a shallow 
metal or earthen vessel, shaped somewhat like a 
chiefly of a stout kind of damask, laid under a 
table to receive falling fragments and keep the 
carpet or floor clean. It is often made to ex- 
tend over the greater part of a dining-room 
floor. 2. A stout kind of damask used for 
stair-coverings. 
crumb-knife (krum'nif), . A knife used in- 
stead of a brush for removing crumbs from a 
table. 
cruea= g. cru = . , , gravy-boat, in which is placed a similarly shaped 
< L. crudelita(t-)s, < crudelis, cruel : see cruel, a.] saucer of oil containing a wick. [Scotch.] 
The simple form which was used down to the end of 
the 18th century, and which as a cruixie continued in 
common use in Scotland till the middle of this century. 
Encyc. Brit., XIV. 245. 
1. The quality of being cruel; the disposition 
to inflict suffering, physical or mental ; indiffer- 
ence to or pleasure in the pain or distress of 
others ; inhumanity. 
There is a cruelty which springs from callousness and crtlisken, criliskeen (kros'ken, -ken), n. A 
brutality, and there is the cruelty of vindictiyeness little cruse or Bottle; a measure (especially 
Lecky, Europ. Morals, I. 140. Qf wMgk } j n Scotland and I re l an d. 
2. A cruel act; a barbarous deed; specifically, cru _ ve) cruve (kruv), n. [Perhaps < Gael, cro, 
gen. crotlia, a sheep-cote, a wattled fold, a hut, 
hovel, cottage.] 1. A sty ; a mean hovel. 2. 
in law, an act inflicting severe pain and done 
with wilfulness and malice. 
Cruelties worthy of the dungeons of the Inquisition. 
Macaulay. 
A sort of hedge formed of stakes on a tidal 
river or the sea-beach, for catching fish, when 
During the wars just before the reformation, especially the tide flows the fish swim over the wattles, and they 
those of the French invasions of Italy, the cruelties of war are ] e ft by the ebbing of the tide. [Scotch in both senses.] 
lller (krul'er), . [Of D. or LG. 
knitter not found, but cf. MD. krol- 
i IKIM 01 me rieiiun in.taiuii ui xitij, me \,i nc are leu uy me eimm 
seemed to revive, and the religious animosities of the cen- Pr11 ] t(>T . trnllpr 
tury and a half afterwards did not extinguish them. TtXj? ', T T J t; 
Woohey, Introd. to Inter. Law, 128. origin (i>. kruU 
ler, one who curls ; cf. MLG. kriille-koken, a 
3f. Harshness or strength of physical impres- 
sion ; strength as of a smell. 
And whenne the moone is downe also thai telle 
Hem [them, sc. garlic] if me sowe, and pulle hem uppe also, 
Of crueltee noo thing wol in hem smelle. 
Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 210. 
= Syn. Inhumanity, barbarity, savageness, ferocity, bru- 
tality. 
cruentatet (kro'en-tat), a. [< L. cruentatus, pp. 
of cruentare, make bloody, < cruentus, bloody : 
see cruentous.} Smeared with blood ; bloody. 
Passing from the cntentate cloth or weapon to the wound, 
and being incorporated with the particles of the salve. 
Glanville, Vanity of Dogmatizing, xxi. 
cruentatedt, Same as cruentate. Bailey. 
cruentOUSt (kro-en'tus), a. [< L. cruentus, 
bloody, < cruor, blood : see crude.} Bloody. 
A most cruel and cruentous civil war. 
A Venice Looking-glass (1648), p. 9. 
cruet (kro'et), n. [Formerly also crewet and 
crevet (see crevet) ; < ME. cruet, cruette, crewet, 
crowet, a small pitcher, water-bottle, prob. dim. 
of OF. cruye, a pitcher : see crock 1 .} 1. A vial 
or small glass bottle, especially one for holding 
vinegar, oil, etc. ; a caster for liquids. 
Thys blode in two eruettes loseph dyd take. 
Joseph of Arimathie (E. E. T. S.), p. 38. 
He took up a little cruet that was filled with a kind of 
inky juice, and pouring some of it out into the glass of 
white wine, presented it to me. 
Addison, Trial of the Wine-brewers. 
Specifically 2. Eccles. , one of the two vessels 
holding respectively the wine and the water 
for the eucharist and for the ablutions of the 
mass. In the Roman Catholic Church the name burette, 
borrowed from the French, is often used. Older names 
are ama or amula, ampulla, jiola or phiola, gemellia, and 
itrceolus or urceola. 
cruet-Stand (kro'et-stand), n. A frame, often 
of silver, for holding cruets and casters. The 
frame, cruets, and casters together are com- 
monly called casters, the casters, or a caster. 
Cruise 1 (kroz), v. i. ; pret. and pp. cruised, ppr. 
cruising. [< D. kruiscn, cross, crucify, also 
cruise, traverse hither and thither (= G. kreu- 
zen = Dan. krydse = Sw. kryssa = F. croiser = 
Sp. Pg. cruzar, cruise, lit. cross), < kruis, cross: 
roll or cake, LG. kroll-koken, wafer-cakes), lit. 
'curler,' < D. krullen, MD. krullen, krollen = 
MLG. krullen, LG. krollen. curl: see curl.} A 
cake cut from rolled dough made of eggs, but- 
ter, sugar, flour, etc., fried to crispness in boil- 
ing lard. 
= G. kriimeln = LG 
crumble; freq. of crumb!, v.} I. trans. To 
break into small fragments ; divide into minute 
parts or morsels. 
He with his bare wand can unthread thy joints, 
And crumble all thy sinews. Milton, Comus, 1. 614. 
II. intrant. 1. To fall into small pieces; 
break or part into small fragments; become 
disintegrated. 
Close to the temple was the castle-gate, 
Doorless and crumbling. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 325. 
In the house forever crumbles 
Some fragment of the frescoed walls. 
Browning, De Gustibus. 
Dr. King witnessed the crumbling process whilst drying 
some perfect [worm] castings. . . . Mr. Scott also remarks 
on the crumbling of the castings near Calcutta. 
Darurin, Vegetable Mould, p. 276. 
2. To fall into desuetude; decay; become frit- 
tered away ; disappear piecemeal. 
One hundred and forty thousand pounds had crumMed 
away in the most imperceptible manner. 
Disraeli, Young Duke, iv. 9. 
One error after another silently crumbled into the dust. 
Story, Speech, Cambridge, Aug. 31, 1826. 
The crisp and crumbling cruller. 
Irving, Sketch-Book, p. 440. 
crumble (krum'bl), n. [Dim. of crumb 1 , v.} A 
small crumb ; a fragment ; a particle ; a mor- 
sel. [Local, Eng.] 
crumb 1 (krum), n. [The b is excrescent, as in crumbly (krum'bli), a. [< crumble + -y!.} Apt 
limb; < ME. cntmme, cromme, crume, cromc to crumble ; bpttle; triable: as, a c ttUg 
(sometimes with long vowel, crume, crowme), 
< AS. cruma, a crumb (= MD. kruyme, D. 
kruim, crumb, pith, = MLG. krome, LG. krome, 
kraume, krome, krom, also krume (> G. krume), 
= Dan. krumme = Sw. dial, krumma, a crumb), crumb-of-bread (krum ov-bred ), . 
< crummen, pp. of erimman (pret. cram, pi. 
"crummon, pp. crummen, in comp. a-crummen), 
break into fragments, crumble : see crim, and 
cf. crump!, crumple.} 1. A morsel; specifically, crumby, a. bee crummy. 
a minute piece of bread or other friable food crumen (kro'men), n. [< L. crumena, also cru- 
broken off, as in crumbling it; hence, a very mina, a purse, bag, perhaps for * scrum end, akin 
to scrotum, a bag.] The tear-bag or suborbital 
lacrymal gland of deer and antelopes. 
crumenalt (krb"me-nal), n. [< L. crumena, a 
purse: see crumen.} A purse. 
The fatte Oxe, that wont ligge in the stal, 
Is nowe fast stalled in her [their] crumenall. 
friable : 
stone ; crumbly bread. Trollope. 
All saw the coffin lowered in ; all heard the rattle of the 
crumbly soil upon its lid. 
Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, p. 278. 
A name 
given to a sponge, HaUchondria panicea, which 
when dried and bleached is as white and light 
as a crumb of bread. 
small fragment or portion of anything. 
rid'Vtabie. fedWlt ' Luk '"xT .^ 
As you seem willing to accept of the crumbs of science, 
... it is with pleasure I continue to hand them on to 
you. Jefferson, Correspondence, II. 335. 
Some crumbs of comfort there shall be for our party 
friends at the South collectorships and postmasterships 
shall be theirs yet a while longer. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal., September. 
Thus cram they their wide-gaping cnnnenal. 
Dr. H. More, Psychozoia, i. 19. 
G. S. Merriam, S. Bowles, II. 305. crTmima ble (krum'a-bl), a. [< crumb*, V., + 
2. The soft inner part of a loaf of bread or -able.} That may fee broken into morsels or 
crumbs. 
crummet (krum'et), a. [Sc., equiv. to crump- 
ed.} Having crooked horns, as a cow. 
. 
cake, as distinguished from the crust. 
Dust unto dust, what must be, must ; 
If you can't get crumb, you'd best eat crust. 
Old song, crummie (krum'i), n. [Sc., equiv. to *orum- 
Take of manchet about three ounces, the crumb only pie, dim. of "crump.} A cow with crooked horns, 
thin cut. Bacon. Also crombie, crumnioi-k. 
I nder the cover of her shawl she slipped a half crown crummock (krum'ok), n. [Sc. dim., equiv. to 
deep into the crumb of the cake. ........ .. "crumiiock, dim. of'cnimj' 1 . Cf. cniiiimii'.} 1. 
Same as crummie. 2. A staff with a crooked 
head for leaning on. Also called cruiiiniii'- 
ilrs. Gaskell, Sylvia's Lovers, xliv. 
To pick or gather up one's crumbs, to improve physi- 
cally ; recover health and strength. 
Thank God I have passed the brunt of it [illness], and 
am recovering and picking up my Crumbs apace. 
Howell, Letters, I. ii. 1. 
stick. 
crummy, crumby (krum'i), a. [< crum, < 
+ -//i.] 1. Full of crumbs. 2. Soft, as the 
