Crest

How to spell crest

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce crest

What does crest mean?

1. nounThe highest point or ridge of something, such as a hill, wave, or roof.
2. nounA tuft of feathers, fur, or skin on the head of a bird or animal.
3. nounA distinctive emblem or device used by a family, club, or institution.
4. verbTo reach the highest point of something before levelling off or descending.

Crest in a sentence

• noun

  The hikers paused at the crest of the hill to catch their breath.

• noun

  The cockatoo raised the bright yellow crest on its head when startled.

• noun

  The school blazer carried an embroidered crest on the breast pocket.

• verb

  The road began to crest just before the long descent into town.

• noun

  A surfer rode along the crest of the breaking wave.

• noun

  The lizard displayed a small crest along the back of its neck.

Where does crest come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin crista, which meant the tuft, plume, or comb on the head of a bird or animal, and also the plume worn on a soldier's helmet. It travelled into English in the 1300s by way of the Old French creste, keeping the helmet-plume sense before broadening to mean the topmost line of anything, such as the ridge of a hill or the foaming top of a wave. In heraldry the same word names the device set above the shield, a usage that grew directly from the idea of the figure crowning a helmet. The modern verb, meaning to rise to or reach the highest point, developed naturally from the noun. The simple spelling is straightforward, since the Latin crista lost only its final vowel on the way to English.

How the word is built

• crest (root, from Latin crista: tuft, plume, comb)