LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

crispus

crispus (feminine crispa, neuter crispum)
Classical[ˈkrɪs.pʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkris.pus]

Meaning

  1. adjectivecurly; crimped (of hair)
  2. adjectivetremulous

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecrispuscrispacrispum
genitivecrispīcrispaecrispī
dativecrispōcrispaecrispō
accusativecrispumcrispamcrispum
ablativecrispōcrispācrispō
vocativecrispecrispacrispum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecrispīcrispaecrispa
genitivecrispōrumcrispārumcrispōrum
dativecrispīscrispīscrispīs
accusativecrispōscrispāscrispa
ablativecrispīscrispīscrispīs
vocativecrispīcrispaecrispa

crispus, a, um, adj. kindred with crinis, crista; cf. cresco.
I. Originally of the hair, curled, crisped, crimped: cincinni, Plaut. Truc. 2, 2, 32; cf. coma, Sil. 16, 120; and: leo crispioribus jubis, Plin. 8, 16, 18, § 46.—Of persons, having curled hair, curlyheaded, Plaut. Capt. 3, 4, 115; id. Rud. 1, 2, 37; Ter. Hec. 3, 4, 26.—*
B. Trop., of discourse, artistic, elaborate: crispum agmen orationis, Gell. 1, 4, 4; cf. crispulus, II.—
II. Transf.
A. Curled, uneven, waving, wrinkled: parietes abiete crispā, Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 3, 19. 44: brassica, Cato, R. R. 157, 2: crispae frondis apium, Col. 11, 3, 33: acer montanum crispius, Plin. 16, 15, 26, § 67: (marmor) Augusteum undatim crispum, id. 36, 7, 11, § 55: lactuca crispissimi folii, Col. 11, 3, 26 et saep.—
B. In tremulous motion, quivering, tremulous: linguae bisulcae jactu crispo fulgere, Pac. ap. Non. p. 506, 17; Verg. Copa, 2: pecten (i. e. plectrum), Juv. 6, 382: aër subtili nebulā, Pall. Aug. 8, 1.
Crispus, i, m.,
I. a Roman surname; so esp. of the well-known Roman historian C. Sallustius.

Origins

Probably from a Proto-Italic *krispos (“curly, crumpled, twisted”), with cognates in Welsh crych (“ripple, wrinkle”), Breton (id.) crec'h. The Italo-Celtic forms seem to trace back to a Proto-Indo-European *kris- (whence also crīnis (“hair of the head”), crista (“crest, plume”)), which has been tentatively linked further to Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”).

Descendants
  • Catalancresp
  • Englishcrisp
  • Englishcrêpe
  • Frenchcrêpe
  • Italiancrespo
  • Portuguesecrespo
  • Spanishcrespo
  • Albaniankreshpë
  • Galiciancrecho
  • Galiciancrespo

In English words that came into English from crispus

  • crepecrispus
  • crispcrispus
  • crapecrispus

Quick answers

What does crispus mean in Latin?
crispus, a adjective, means “curly; crimped (of hair); tremulous”.
How do you pronounce crispus?
In classical Latin, [ˈkrɪs.pʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkris.pus].
Which English words come from crispus?
English words that go back to Latin crispus include crepe, crisp and crape.