crotal · noun — A crotalum, a type of clapper used in Ancient Greece.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, crotal ranks #14,046 of 42,858 for Qualifying.
Etymology
Either from French crotale or directly from Latin crotalum. Ultimately from Ancient Greek κρόταλον (krótalon, “clapper”). Doublet of crotalum.
noun
- A crotalum, a type of clapper used in Ancient Greece.
- A small round bell or rattle; a jingle bell.e.g.“The earliest type animal bell used was the crotal or sleigh bell. Rather than a round ball as we know it today, it was a birdcage style with pebble rolling around inside.” — 1970, Dorothy Malone Anthony, The World of Bells, page 14:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- crotalum 89% match — A kind of clapper or castanet used in religious dances by groups in Ancient Greece (including the Korybants) and elsewhere. vs crotal →
- crotale 77% match — A percussion instrument of archaic origin, resembling a metal castanet or cymbal. vs crotal →
- crotalic 66% match — Relating to the crotalids (rattlesnakes and pit vipers) vs crotal →
- crotaphite 64% match — Pertaining to the temples; temporal. vs crotal →
- crepitaculum 64% match — A clapper or noisemaker sometimes used in place of an altar bell. vs crotal →
- crotaloid 63% match — Resembling the genus Crotalus of venomous snakes, including the rattlesnake. vs crotal →
- crotalid 63% match — A pit viper; any member of the subfamily Crotalinae (formerly the family Crotalidae) in family Viperidae. vs crotal →
- chrotta 63% match — Synonym of crwth. vs crotal →