crusade means any of the Papally-endorsed military expeditions undertaken by the Christians of Latin Europe in the 11th to 13th centuries to reconquer the Levant from the Muslims, as well as expeditions along the Baltic Sea and against the Cathars. It carries an Arena rating of 1480, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, crusade ranks #234 of 17,135 for Most Malleable Words, #235 of 17,105 for Most Storied Words, #305 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,640 of 17,131 for Scariest Words.
crusade is pronounced /kɹuːˈseɪd/.
Why “crusade” is a great word
A medieval military expedition undertaken by European Christians to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim rule, or more broadly, any vigorous, organized campaign for a political, social, or religious cause. From French croisade (introduced into English by 1575), from Old Occitan crozada and Spanish cruzada, from Medieval Latin cruciāta, the feminine singular of cruciātus ("marked with a cross") used as a noun, ultimately from Latin crux ("cross"). Unlike jihad—a striving rooted in Islamic theology, encompassing both spiritual and martial effort—or a mere campaign—a secular, organized effort—a crusade carries the indelible stain of the cross, a holy war launched from a specific historical heart. It is the glint of the noonday sun on a thousand Frankish shields, the deafening thunder of a trebuchet stone against a Saracen wall, and the desperate, bloody grasping for a strip of cloth believed to be sacred—the tragic transmutation of faith into a banner under which any modern zeal, however secular, marches to its own drum.
Etymology
From French croisade, introduced into English (in the French spelling) by 1575. The modern spelling emerges c. 1760,. Middle French croisade is introduced in the 15th century, based on Spanish cruzada (late 14th century) and Old Occitan crozada (early 13th century), both reflecting Medieval Latin cruciāta, cruxiata, the feminine singular of the adjective cruciātus used as an abstract noun. Adjectival cruciātus originally meant "tormented; crucified", but from the 12th century crucesignatus was also used for "marked with a cross; making the sign of the cross" and eventually "taking the cross" in the sense of "going on a crusade". Old Occitan crozada is used in the sense "[the Albigensian] crusade" in the Song of the Albigensian crusade, written c. 1213. From vernacular usage, Middle Latin c
noun
- Any of the Papally-endorsed military expeditions undertaken by the Christians of Latin Europe in the 11th to 13th centuries to reconquer the Levant from the Muslims, as well as expeditions along the Baltic Sea and against the Cathars.e.g.“During the crusades, many Muslims and Christians and Jews were slaughtered.”
- Any war instigated and blessed by the Church for alleged religious ends, (especially) papal-sanctioned military campaigns against infidels or heretics.
- A grand, concerted effort towards some purportedly worthy cause.e.g.“a crusade against drug abuse”
- A mass gathering in a political campaign or during a religious revival effort.
- A Portuguese coin; a crusado.
- Any of a series of religious campaigns by Christian forces from the 11th to the 13th century, mostly to capture the Holy Land from the Muslims and Jews who inhabited it.
verb
- To go on a military crusade.
- To make a grand concerted effort toward some purportedly worthy cause.e.g.“He crusaded against similar injustices for the rest of his life.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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