Critic

How to spell critic

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce critic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does critic mean?

1. nounA person who reviews, evaluates, or expresses disapproval of something such as art, food, or policy.

Critic in a sentence

• The restaurant critic praised the new tasting menu.

• Every film critic in the city attended the premiere.

Where does critic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek kritikos, meaning 'able to judge or discern', which was built on the verb krinein, 'to separate, decide, or judge'. The Greeks used kritikos for someone skilled in distinguishing good from bad, especially in literature. The term passed into Latin as criticus and reached English in the late 1500s, at first describing a person who passed reasoned judgement on books and art. The same krinein root sits behind a whole family of English words, including 'crisis' (a decisive turning point), 'criterion' (a standard for judging), and 'critique'. The spelling keeps the hard c sound from the Greek kappa, which is why the ending is -ic rather than the -ick once common in older English.

How the word is built

• crit (from Greek krites: a judge)
• -ic (forming a noun denoting a person)