Dictionary

crux en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /kɹʌks/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /krəks/ (US)
• /kɾʌks/ (Scotland, Wales)
• /kɹɐks/ (Australia)
• /kɹʊks/ (Northern-England)
• (Australia) audio
• /kɹʌks/ (US)
• (US) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin crux (“cross, wooden frame for execution”), possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, to bend”). Doublet of cross and crouch (“cross”).

Meanings

1. The basic, central, or essential point or feature.
   • The crux of her argument was that the roadways needed repair before anything else could be accomplished.
2. The critical or transitional moment or issue, a turning point.
   • The movie hits its dramatic crux an hour in, when Reality [Winner], at work at the contractor’s facility in Georgia, discovers what she deems a tragic scandal. 2024 September 11, Richard Brody, ““Winner” Takes Political Comedy Seriously”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 03 Oct 2024:
   • The mad certitude of the ogre, Abel Tiffauges, that he stands at the crux of history and that he will be able to raise Prussia "to a higher power" (p. 180), contrasts sharply with the anxiety and doubt attendant upon most modern literary dreams. 1993, Laurence M. Porter, “Real Dreams, Literary Dreams, and the Fantastic in Literature”, in Carol Schreier Rupprecht, editor, The Dream and the Text: Essays on Literature and Language, pages 32–47:
3. A puzzle or difficulty.
   • The perpetual crux of New Testament chronologists. 1860, Marian Evans (translator), The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined (originally by David Strauss)
   • What I have advanced upon this species of verse will contribute to solve a poetical problem, thrown out by Dryden as a crux to his brethren 1775, Thomas Sheridan, Lectures on the Art of Reading:
4. The hardest point of a climb.
   • the real crux of the climb was encountered 1907, The Alpine Journal, volume 23:
   • Most pitches have a distinct crux, or tough spot; some have multiple cruxes. […] ¶ Climb efficiently on the "cruiser" sections to stay fresh for the cruxes. 2004, Craig Luebben, Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills, The Mountaineers Books, →ISBN, page 179:
   • Continue climbing the groove; the crux is passing some vegetation on the second pitch. 2009, R. J. Secor, The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails, Third Edition, The Mountaineers Books, →ISBN, page 51:
   • The final half-mile was the crux of the climb. 1973, Pat Armstrong, "Klondike Fever: Seventy Years Too Late", in Backpacker, Autumn 1973, page 84
5. A cross on a coat of arms.

Forms

Deriveds

crux gammata · crux decussata · crux ordinaria · crux ansata · crux simplex · cruxy

Descendants

crux

Relateds

crucify · crucible · crucial · cross · crucifix

Synonyms

heartstrings · heart · spirit · gist · soul · inwardness · marrow · nuts and bolts · nub · nitty-gritty · kernel · heartstring · pith · essence · tenor · brass tacks · guts · conundrum · heart and soul · crux · puzzle · moral of the story · quintessence · essence · drift · gist · punctum saliens · heart · core · gravamen · riddle · meat · substance · bowels · stuff · sum · enigma · core

Translations (45)

ro moment decisiv (critical or transitional moment) · bg затруднение (puzzle or difficulty) · cy craidd (central or essential point) · de Kern (-punkt) (central or essential point) · de Knackpunkt (puzzle or difficulty) · mi tino (central or essential point) · sv krux (puzzle or difficulty) · ml കാര്യം (central or essential point) · fi käännekohta (critical or transitional moment) · it punto cruciale (central or essential point) · es asunto esencial (central or essential point) · ca moll de l'os (central or essential point) · ar مَرْبِط الْفَرَس (central or essential point) · sv pudelns kärna (central or essential point) · cs jádro (central or essential point) · ca quid (central or essential point) · pl sedno (central or essential point) · es punto crucial (central or essential point) · ru суть (central or essential point) · pt ponto crucial (central or essential point) · pt momento decisivo (critical or transitional moment) · cmn 關鍵 /关键 (central or essential point) · de Wendepunkt (critical or transitional moment) · ru решающий вопрос (central or essential point) · bg критичен момент (critical or transitional moment) · fi vaikein kohta (hardest part of a climb) · ru основная проблема (central or essential point) · hy շրջադարձային կետ (critical or transitional moment) · he עיקר (central or essential point) · ro punct crucial (central or essential point) · nl kruispunt (critical or transitional moment) · fi ydin (central or essential point) · fi hankaluus (puzzle or difficulty) · bg същност на проблема (central or essential point) · fr crux (hardest part of a climb) · es busilis (puzzle or difficulty) · hy առանցք (central or essential point) · es quid (central or essential point) · cs podstata (central or essential point) · fi taitekohta (critical or transitional moment) · sv kärna (central or essential point) · de Crux (puzzle or difficulty) · pl zagadka (puzzle or difficulty) · hy առանցքային կետ (central or essential point) · es meollo (central or essential point)