FromMiddle Englishcrasen(“to crush, break, break to pieces, shatter, craze”), fromOld Norse*krasa(“to shatter”), ultimately imitative.[1]
Cognate withScotskrass(“to crush, squeeze, wrinkle”),Icelandickrasa(“to crackle”),Norwegiankrasa(“to shatter, crush”),Swedishkrasa(“to crack, crackle”),Danishkrase(“to crack, crackle”),Faroesekras(“small pieces”).
craze (pluralcrazes)
- A stronghabitualdesire orfancy.
- Atemporarypassion orinfatuation, as for some newamusement,pursuit, orfashion; afad.
2012,Alan Titchmarsh,The Complete Countryman: A User's Guide to Traditional Skills and Lost Crafts:Winemaking was a hugecraze in the 1970s, when affordable package holidays to the continent gave people a taste for winedrinking, but the recession made it hard to afford off-license prices back home.
- (ceramics) Acrack in theglaze orenamel caused byexposure of thepottery to great or irregularheat.
- (archaic)Craziness;insanity.
1849 May –1850 November,Charles Dickens,The Personal History of David Copperfield, London:Bradbury & Evans, […], published1850,→OCLC:‘A poor fellow with acraze, sir,’ said Mr. Dick, ‘a simpleton, a weak-minded person[…] may do what wonderful people may not do.[…]’
craze (third-person singular simple presentcrazes,present participlecrazing,simple past and past participlecrazed)
- (archaic) Toweaken; toimpair; to renderdecrepit.
- To derange the intellect of; to render insane.
1664,John Tillotson, “Sermon I. The Wisdom of Being Religious.Job XXVIII. 28.”, inThe Works of the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson, Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: […], 8th edition, London: […] T. Goodwin, B[enjamin] Tooke, and J. Pemberton, […]; J. Round […], andJ[acob] Tonson] […], published1720,→OCLC:any man[…] that iscrazed and out of his wits
c.1603–1606,William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act III, scene iv]:Grief hathcrazed my wits.
- To be crazed, or to act or appear as one that is crazed; to rave; to become insane.
1820,John Keats, “Robin Hood”, inLamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] forTaylor and Hessey, […],→OCLC,page135:And if Robin should be cast / Sudden from his turfed grave, / And if Marian should have / Once again her forest days, / She would weep and he wouldcraze: [...]
- (transitive, intransitive, archaic) To break into pieces; to crush; to grind to powder. Seecrase.
1667,John Milton, “Book X”, inParadise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […];[a]nd by Robert Boulter […];[a]nd Matthias Walker, […],→OCLC; republished asParadise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […],1873,→OCLC, lines1100–1101:God looking forth will trouble all his Hoſt / Andcraze thir Chariot wheels:
- (transitive, intransitive) To crack, as the glazing of porcelain or pottery.
to weaken; to impair; to render decrepit
to derange the intellect of; to render insane
to be crazed, or to act or appear as one that is crazed; to rave; to become insane
to break into pieces; to crush; to grind to powder
—seecraseto crack, as the glazing of porcelain or pottery
- ^ Worcester, Joseph Emerson (1910: Worcester's academic dictionary: a new etymological dictionary of the English language, p. 371
