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crypt

[kript]

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noun

a subterranean chamber or vault, especially one beneath the main floor of a church, used as a burial place, a location for secret meetings, etc.

Anatomy. a slender pit or recess; a small glandular cavity.

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Origin:
1375–1425 for sense “grotto”; 1555–65 for current senses; late Middle English cripte < Latin crypta < Greek kryptḗ hidden place, noun use of feminine of kryptós hidden, verbid of krýptein to hide; replacing earlier crypta < Latin, as above

Related forms

un·der·crypt, noun

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Crypt is always a great word to know.

So is bile duct. Does it mean:

a large duct that transports bile from the liver, having in humans and many other vertebrates a side branch to a gallbladder for bile storage

a large, triangular muscle covering the joint of the shoulder, the action of which raises the arm away from the side of the body

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Example Sentences

They are now displayed in situ in the underground crypt museum.

Take a few steps across it, over a thin creek, and you come face to face with a rain-stained crypt.

My favorite, and one often missed, is the crypt beneath the altar.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

variant of crypto- before a vowel.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To crypt

Collins

World English Dictionary

crypt (krɪpt)

—n
1.	a cellar, vault, or underground chamber, esp beneath a church, where it is often used as a chapel, burial place, etc
2.	anatomy any pitlike recess or depression

[C18: from Latin crypta, from Greek kruptē vault, secret place, from kruptos hidden, from kruptein to hide]

'cryptal

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

crypt

early 15c., "grotto, cavern," from L. crypta "vault, cavern," from Gk. krypte, fem. of kryptos "hidden," from kryptein "to hide." Meaning "underground burial vault or chapel in a church" first attested 1789.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

crypt (krĭpt)
n.
A small pit, recess, or glandular cavity in the body.

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