Etymograph

English

crest

Crest comes from Old French creste, from Old English cræsta ‘crest, tuft, plume’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to turn, bend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to turn, bend’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrista2‘the crest, the plume’uncertain
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*cresta2uncertain
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cræsta2‘crest, tuft, plume’uncertain
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400creste2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500creste2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1596crest2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin crista
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English crest
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book IV, Canto I: “Like as the shining skie in summers night, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, Latin crista‘to turn, bend’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcristaWiktionary, English crest‘the crest, the plume’uncertain
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*crestaWiktionary, English crestuncertain
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cræstaWiktionary, English crest‘crest, tuft, plume’uncertain
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400cresteWiktionary, English crest
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cresteWiktionary, English crest
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1596crestWiktionary, English crest. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book IV, Canto I: “Like as the shining skie in summers night, /…”

The story

The informal meaning “design, logo” (noun sense 11) stems from a misinterpretation of the heraldic noun sense 4, which specifically refers to the object placed on top of the helm.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to turn, bend’

short, card, across, cancer, share, cross, shirt, circle, score, circuit, screen, curve, crucial, circus, circulation, skirt, carnival, curb, scare, scar, cancellation, shrine, circa, scrutiny, corona, shear, scorpion, incarceration, carnage, raffle, circulate, carcinoma, corolla, shred, 124 more

Today it means

noun The summit of a hill or mountain ridge.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “crest”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin crista. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / crest

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