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Crux

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crux

  [kruhks]
Use Crux in a Sentence
–noun, plural crux⋅es, cru⋅ces  [kroo-seez] .
1. a vital, basic, decisive, or pivotal point: The crux of the trial was his whereabouts at the time of the murder.
2. a cross.
3. something that torments by its puzzling nature; a perplexing difficulty.
Origin:
1635–45; < L: stake, scaffold, or cross used in executions, torment; figurative senses perh. < NL crux (interpretum) (commentators') torment, a difficult passage in a text; cf. crucial

Synonyms:
1. essence, heart, core, gist.

Crux

  [kruhks]
–noun, genitive Cru⋅cis  [kroo-sis] . Astronomy.
Southern Cross.
Origin:
< L: a cross
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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crux   (krŭks, krŏŏks)   
n.   pl. crux·es or cru·ces (krōō'sēz)

  1. The basic, central, or critical point or feature: the crux of the matter; the crux of an argument.

  2. A puzzling or apparently insoluble problem.


[Probably short for Medieval Latin crux (interpretum), torment (of interpreters), from Latin crux, cross.]
Crux   (krŭks, krŏŏks)   
n.  See Southern Cross.
Southern Cross  
n.  A constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Centaurus and Musca. Also called Crux.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

crux (krŭks, kr&oobreve;ks)
n. pl. crux·es or cru·ces (kr&oomacr;'sēz)
A cross or a crosslike structure.

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

Crux

constellation lying at about 12 hours 30 minutes right ascension (the coordinate on the celestial sphere analogous to longitude on the Earth) and 60 south declination (angular distance south of the celestial equator), now visible only from south of about 30 north latitude (i.e., the latitude of North Africa and Florida). It appears on the flags of Australia, New Zealand, and Samoa (formerly Western Samoa)

Learn more about Crux with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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