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crucially

[kroo-shuhl]

Origin

adjective

involving an extremely important decision or result; decisive; critical: a crucial experiment.

severe; trying.

of the form of a cross; cross-shaped.

Origin:
1700–10; < Latin cruci- (stem of crux) cross + -al¹

Related forms

cru·ci·al·i·ty

[kroo-shee-al-i-tee, kroo-shal-] , noun

cru·cial·ly, adverb

non·cru·cial, adjective

non·cru·cial·ly, adverb

pre·cru·cial, adjective

Synonyms
1. momentous, vital, essential, significant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Crucially is always a great word to know.

So is quincunx. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

crucial (ˈkruːʃəl)

—*adj*
1.	involving a final or supremely important decision or event; decisive; critical
2.	informal very important
3.	slang very good

[C18: from French, from Latin cruxcross]

'crucially

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

crucial

1706, from Fr. crucial, a medical term for ligaments of the knee (which cross each other), from L. crux (gen. crucis) "cross." The meaning "decisive, critical" is extended from a logical term, Instantias Crucis, adopted by Francis Bacon (1620); the notion is of cross fingerboard signposts at forking

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roads, thus a requirement to choose.

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-Alistair Cooke

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