n.; pl. Crises [ L. crisis, Gr. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;, fr. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_; to separate. See Certain. ] 1. The point of time when it is to be decided whether any affair or course of action must go on, or be modified or terminate; the decisive moment; the turning point. [ 1913 Webster ]

This hour's the very crisis of your fate. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

The very times of crisis for the fate of the country. Brougham. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Med.) That change in a disease which indicates whether the result is to be recovery or death; sometimes, also, a striking change of symptoms attended by an outward manifestation, as by an eruption or sweat. [ 1913 Webster ]

Till some safe crisis authorize their skill. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ AS. crisp, fr. L. crispus; cf. carpere to pluck, card (wool), and E. harvest. Cf. Crape. ] 1. Curling in stiff curls or ringlets; as, crisp hair. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Curled with the ripple of the water. [ Poetic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

You nymphs called Naiads, of the winding brooks . . .
Leave jour crisp channels. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Brittle; friable; in a condition to break with a short, sharp fracture; as, crisp snow. [ 1913 Webster ]

The cakes at tea ate short and crisp. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Possessing a certain degree of firmness and freshness; in a fresh, unwilted condition. [ 1913 Webster ]

It [ laurel ] has been plucked nine months, and yet looks as hale and crisp as if it would last ninety years. Leigh Hunt. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Lively; sparking; effervescing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Your neat crisp claret. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Brisk; crackling; cheerful; lively. [ 1913 Webster ]

The snug, small room, and the crisp fire. Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. That which is crisp or brittle; the state of being crisp or brittle; as, burned to a crisp; specifically, the rind of roasted pork; crackling. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Crisped p. pr. & vb. n. Crisping. ] [ L. crispare, fr. crispus. See Crisp. a. ] 1. To curl; to form into ringlets, as hair, or the nap of cloth; to interweave, as the branches of trees. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause to undulate irregularly, as crape or water; to wrinkle; to cause to ripple. Cf. Crimp. [ 1913 Webster ]

The lover with the myrtle sprays
Adorns his crisped tresses. Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Along the crisped shades and bowers. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The crisped brooks,
Rolling on orient pearl and sands of gold. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To make crisp or brittle, as in cooking. [ 1913 Webster ]

Crisping iron, an instrument by which hair or any textile fabric is crisped. --
Crisping pin, the simplest form of crisping iron. Is. iii. 22. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To undulate or ripple. Cf. Crisp, v. t. [ 1913 Webster ]

To watch the crisping ripples on the beach. Tennuson. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. crispatus, p. p. of crispare. ] Having a crisped appearance; irregularly curled or twisted. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ CF. F. crispation. ] 1. The act or process of curling, or the state of being curled. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A very slight convulsive or spasmodic contraction of certain muscles, external or internal. [ 1913 Webster ]

Few men can look down from a great height without creepings and crispations. O. W. Holmes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being crispate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, crisps or curls; an instrument for making little curls in the nap of cloth, as in chinchilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A shoemaker; -- jocularly so called from the patron saint of the craft. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A member of a union or association of shoemakers. [ 1913 Webster ]