Where does “crucible” come from?
Crucible comes from Latin crucibulum, derived from crux meaning cross, which traces to Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- and sek-, roots meaning to cut or separate.
crucible (English): A cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment used...
Definitions
- A cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment used...
Ancestry of “crucible”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | crucibulum | night-lamp, metallurgic melting-pot |
| 2 | Latin | crux | wooden frame on which criminals were crucified,... |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | *kruks | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱer- | to caw, crow |