crevice

crevice
\ \ [14] Rather like crack, the word crevice began with the notion of the sharp noise of breaking and gradually developed to denote the fissure caused by such a break. It comes ultimately from the Latin verb crepārecreak, rattle, crack’ (source of English crepitation [17] and decrepit, and probably also of craven), which passed into Old French as creverburst, split’. From this was derived the noun crevace, borrowed into Middle English as crevace or crevisse. In modern French it developed into crevasse, which English reborrowed in the 19th century.
\ \ Cf.CRAVEN, CREPITATION, CREVASSE, DECREPIT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Crevice — Crev ice (kr?v ?s), n. [OE. crevace, crevice. F. crevasse, fr. crever to break, burst, fr. L. crepare to crack,break. Cf. {Craven}, {Crepitate}, {Crevasse}.] A narrow opening resulting from a split or crack or the separation of a junction; a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Crevice — Crev ice, v. t. To crack; to flaw. [R.] Sir H. Wotton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • crevice — index rift (gap), split Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • crevice — mid 14c., from O.Fr. crevace (12c., Mod.Fr. crevasse) gap, rift, crack (also, vulgarly, the female pudenda ), from V.L. *crepacia, from L. crepare to crack, creak; meaning shifted from the sound of breaking to the resulting fissure …   Etymology dictionary

  • crevice — *crack, cleft, fissure, crevasse, cranny, chink Analogous words: *breach, split, rift, rent: *break, gap …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • crevice — / crevasse [n] crack, gap abyss, chasm, chink, cleft, crack, cranny, cut, division, fissure, fracture, hole, interstice, opening, precipice, rent, rift, slit, split; concepts 509,513 …   New thesaurus

  • crevice — ► NOUN ▪ a narrow opening or fissure in a rock or wall. ORIGIN Old French crevace, from crever to burst …   English terms dictionary

  • crevice — [krev′is] n. [ME crevace < OFr < VL * crepacia, a crack < L crepare: see CRAVEN] a narrow opening caused by a crack or split; fissure; cleft; chink creviced adj …   English World dictionary

  • Crevice — A crevice usually refers to a fracture or fissure in rock (compare to a crevasse, which is in ice). Crevice may also refer to: Crevice corrosion, occurs in spaces to which the access of corrosion resistant fluid is limited Crevice kelpfish… …   Wikipedia

  • crevice — A crack or small fissure, especially in a solid substance. [Fr. crevasse] gingival c. SYN: gingival sulcus. * * * crev·ice krev əs n a narrow fissure or cleft <an ulcerated periodontal crevice> see GINGIVAL CREVICE …   Medical dictionary

  • crevice — [[t]kre̱vɪs[/t]] crevices N COUNT A crevice is a narrow crack or gap, especially in a rock. ...a huge boulder with rare ferns growing in every crevice. Syn: fissure …   English dictionary

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