crux

views updated May 14 2018

crux / krəks; kroŏks/ • n. (pl. crux·es or cru·ces / ˈkroōˌsēz/ ) (the crux) the decisive or most important point at issue: the crux of the matter is that attitudes have changed. ∎ a particular point of difficulty.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

Crux

views updated Jun 27 2018

Crux / krəks; kroŏks/ Astron. another term for the Southern Cross. ∎ [as genitive] (Cru·cis / ˈkroōsis/ ) used with a preceding letter or numeral to designate a star in this constellation: the star Beta Crucis.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

crux

views updated May 23 2018

crux a cross (from Latin); the term is recorded from the mid 17th century, chiefly in crux ansata (‘cross with a handle’), a word for ankh. From the early 18th century, the figurative use of the decisive or most important point at issue is recorded.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

crux

views updated May 21 2018

crux pl. cruxes, cruces †conundrum, riddle XVIII; difficulty the solution of which perplexes XIX. — L., ‘CROSS 1’; short for crux interpretum, crux philosophorum torment of interpreters, of philosophers.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD