English
croisade
Croisade comes from French croisade ‘crusade’, from Old French crois ‘cross’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *kruks.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kruks1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrux2as crux‘wooden frame on which criminals were crucified, especially a cross’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400crois3‘cross’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400croisade3
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600croisade4‘crusade’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcroisade5‘crusade’
- Englishtodaycroisade5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin crux, which cites Pokorny
- 2 Wiktionary, Old French crois
- 3 Wiktionary, Middle French croisade
- 4 Wiktionary, French croisade
- 5 Wiktionary, English croisade
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kruksWiktionary, Latin crux, which cites Pokornyreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcruxWiktionary, Old French croisas crux‘wooden frame on which criminals were crucified, especially a cross’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400croisWiktionary, Middle French croisade‘cross’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400croisadeWiktionary, Middle French croisade
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600croisadeWiktionary, French croisade‘crusade’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcroisadeWiktionary, English croisade‘crusade’
- EnglishtodaycroisadeWiktionary, English croisade
Linked words
through Latin crux ‘wooden frame on which criminals were…’
cross, cruise, crucible, excruciating, crouch, crux, cruciform, 6 more
through Old French crois ‘cross’
through French croisade ‘crusade’
Today it means
noun A crusade; a holy war.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “croisade”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin crux, Old French crois, Middle French croisade, French croisade. 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-Italic *kruks / croisade