crisp

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Firm and fresh, in a pleasant way.

   My salad was full of crisp green lettuce.

2. 2
   adj

   Pleasantly cold and fresh.

   I love going for a walk on a crisp autumn morning.

3. 3
   noun

   A thin, crunchy slice of fried potato eaten as a snack (British English).

   He bought a bag of crisps to eat on the train.

4. 4
   adj

   Clear and sharp, of a sound or image.

   The new television produces a wonderfully crisp picture.

The adjective is derived partly from the following: * Etymology 1, adjective sense 1: Middle English crisp (“curly, wavy”), from Old English crisp (“curly”), from Latin crispus (“of hair: crimped, curly”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kris-, from *(s)ker- (“to bend; to turn”). * Etymology 1, adjective sense 2: from the above, and probably also onomatopoeic, representing a crinkling or crunching sound. Doublet of crape and crepe. Adjective etymology 1, adjective sense 2.2.3 (“of air, weather, etc.: cool and dry”) is transferred from a description of frost or snow as “crisp”, th…

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