Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

CRYSTAL

 - 10 dictionary results

crys⋅tal

[kris-tl] noun, adjective, verb, -taled, -tal⋅ing or (especially British) -talled, -tal⋅ling.
–noun
1. a clear, transparent mineral or glass resembling ice.
2. the transparent form of crystallized quartz.
3. Chemistry, Mineralogy. a solid body having a characteristic internal structure and enclosed by symmetrically arranged plane surfaces, intersecting at definite and characteristic angles.
4. anything made of or resembling such a substance.
5. a single grain or mass of a crystalline substance.
6. glass of fine quality and a high degree of brilliance.
7. articles, esp. glassware for the table and ornamental objects, made of such a glass.
8. the glass or plastic cover over the face of a watch.
9. Radio.
a. the piece of germanium, silicon, galena, or the like forming the essential part of a crystal detector.
b. the crystal detector itself.
10. Electronics. a quartz crystal ground in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, which vibrates strongly at one frequency when electric voltages of that frequency are placed across opposite sides: used to control the frequency of an oscillator (crystal oscillator), as of a radio transmitter.
11. Slang. any stimulant drug in powder form, as methamphetamine or PCP.
–adjective
12. composed of crystal.
13. resembling crystal; clear; transparent.
14. Radio. pertaining to or employing a crystal detector.
15. indicating the fifteenth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.
–verb (used with object)
16. to make into crystal; crystallize.
17. to cover or coat with, or as if with, crystal (usually fol. by over).

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME cristal(le), OE cristalla < ML cristallum, L crystallum < Gk krýstallos clear ice, rock crystal, deriv. of krystaínein to freeze; see cryo-


crys⋅tal⋅like, adjective

Crys⋅tal

[kris-tl]
–noun
1. a city in SE Minnesota, near Minneapolis. 25,543.
2. a female given name.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To CRYSTAL
crys·tal   (krĭs'təl)   
n.  
    1. A homogenous solid formed by a repeating, three-dimensional pattern of atoms, ions, or molecules and having fixed distances between constituent parts.

    2. The unit cell of such a pattern.

    3. A natural or synthetic crystalline material having piezoelectric or semiconducting properties.

    4. An electronic device, such as an oscillator or detector, using such a material.

    5. A high-quality, clear, colorless glass.

    6. An object, especially a vessel or ornament, made of such glass.

    7. Such objects considered as a group.

  1. A mineral, especially a transparent form of quartz, having a crystalline structure, often characterized by external planar faces.

    1. A natural or synthetic crystalline material having piezoelectric or semiconducting properties.

    2. An electronic device, such as an oscillator or detector, using such a material.

    3. A high-quality, clear, colorless glass.

    4. An object, especially a vessel or ornament, made of such glass.

    5. Such objects considered as a group.

    1. A high-quality, clear, colorless glass.

    2. An object, especially a vessel or ornament, made of such glass.

    3. Such objects considered as a group.

  2. A clear glass or plastic protective cover for the face of a watch or clock.

  3. Slang A stimulant drug, usually methamphetamine, in its powdered form.

adj.  Clear or transparent: a crystal lake; the crystal clarity of their reasoning.

[Middle English cristal, from Old French, from Latin crystallum, from Greek krustallos, ice, crystal; see kreus- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

crystal

A material in which the atoms are arranged in a rigid geometrical structure (see geometry) marked by symmetry. Crystals often have clearly visible geometrical shapes.

Note: Most minerals are crystalline structures.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
crystal

  1. n.
    crystallized cocaine. (Drugs. See also crack.) : Crystal—an older name for crack—was a favorite many years ago.
  2. n.
    liquid Methedrine in glass ampoules. (Drugs.) : I hear that Willy's shooting crystal. Is that true?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

crystal 
O.E. cristal "clear ice, clear mineral," from O.Fr. cristal, from L. crystallum "crystal, ice," from Gk. krystallos, from kryos "frost," from PIE base *kru(s)- "hard, hard outer surface" (see crust). The mineral has been so-called since O.E.; it was regarded by the ancients as a sort of fossilized ice. As a shortened form of crystal-glass it dates from 1594.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: crys·tal
Pronunciation: 'kris-t&l
Function: noun
1 : a body that is formed by the solidification of a chemicalelement, a compound, or a mixture and has a regularly repeating internal arrangement of its atoms and often external plane faces
2 : ICE 2 broadly : methamphetamine in any form when used illicitly —crystal adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

crystal crys·tal (krĭs'təl)
n.

  1. A homogenous solid formed by a repeating, three-dimensional pattern of atoms, ions, or molecules and having fixed distances between constituent parts.

  2. A mineral, especially a transparent form of quartz that has a crystalline structure and is often characterized by external planar faces.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Computing Dictionary

Crystal
Concurrent Representation of Your Space-Time ALgorithms.
A recursion equation parallel language.
["A Parallel Language and its Compilation to Multiprocessor Machines or VLSI", M.C. Chen, 13th POPL, ACM 1986 pp.131-139].
(1994-12-06)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Cite This Source
Bible Dictionary

Crystal

(Ezek. 1:22, with the epithet "terrible," as dazzling the spectators with its brightness). The word occurs in Rev. 4:6; 21:11; 22:1. It is a stone of the flint order, the most refined kind of quartz. The Greek word here used means also literally "ice." The ancients regarded the crystal as only pure water congealed into extreme hardness by great length of time.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source
Search another word or see CRYSTAL on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: