English
crisis
Crisis comes from Latin crisis, from Greek κρίσις ‘a separating, decision, judgment’, from κρίνω ‘to pick out, decide’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρίνω1krínō‘pick out’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρίσις1krísis‘a separating’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrisis1
- Englishearliest quotation 1929crisis1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English crisis
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1929, D.H. Lawrence: “Connie found it impossible to come to her crisis…”.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρίνωWiktionary, English crisiskrínō‘pick out’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρίσιςWiktionary, English crisiskrísis‘a separating’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrisisWiktionary, English crisis
- Englishearliest quotation 1929crisisWiktionary, English crisis. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1929, D.H. Lawrence: “Connie found it impossible to come to her crisis…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’
certain, secretary, secret, criminal, crime, discrimination, discretion, critique, riddle, discrete, discriminate, hypocrite, discreet, discern, 55 more
through Ancient Greek κρίνω ‘pick out, choose, decide, judge’
through Ancient Greek κρίσις ‘a separating, power of distinguishing,…’
Today it means
noun A crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “crisis”. 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 / Ancient Greek κρίνω / crisis