See Also: CREST(money)
Crest(medicine)
crest(2)(dictionary)
crest(1)(dictionary)
nape-crest(medicine)
nasal crest(medicine)
neural crest(medicine)
obturator crest(medicine)
crest 2, verb(dictionary)
pubic crest(medicine)

crest(1) (iou)



crest noun. ME.
[Old French creste (mod. crete) from Latin crista tuft, plume.]
An erect plume of feathers, horsehair, etc., fixed to the top of a helmet or head-dress; any ornament worn similarly as a cognizance. ME.
T. H. White Many were vain enough to have these armorial crests..but Sir Lancelot always contented himself with a bare helmet.
b. (The apex of) a helmet. ME.
Milton On his crest Sat horror plum'd.
A comb, tuft of feathers, etc., on a bird's or animal's head. LME.
E. T. Gilliard The cockatoos..differ from other parrots in having the crest erectile and usually greatly elongated.
Heraldry. A figure or device, often a representation of an animal or bird, placed on a wreath, coronet, etc., and borne above the shield and on the helmet in a coat of arms or used separately as a cognizance on seals, plate, notepaper, etc. LME.
Shakespeare Taming of Shrew What is your cresta coxcomb?
b. Archery. A coloured identifying pattern below the fletching of an arrow. E20.
The head, summit, or top of or of anything, esp. a hill or mountain. LME.
fig.: V. Sackville-West Her relations with Sebastian would seem to have reached the crest of their perfection.
Architecture. The finishing of stone, metal, etc., which surmounts a roof-ridge, wall, etc. LME.
An elevated ridge; spec. (a) the ridge of a mountain, pass, bank, etc.; (b) Fortification the top line of a parapet or slope; (c) a balk or ridge in a field between two furrows; (d) the curling foamy top of a wave; the peak of a wave. LME.
on the crest of the wave fig. at the most favourable moment in one's progress.
I. Murdoch The sea is agitated, very dark blue with white crests.
The ridge of the neck of a horse, dog, lion, etc.; an animal's mane. L16.
A raised ridge on the surface of any object; esp. (Anatomy) a ridge running along the surface of a bone. L16.
frontal crest, occipital crest, parietal crest, sagittal crest, etc. neural crest: see NEURAL adjective 1.
Comb.: crestfallen adjective (a) with drooping crest; fig. dejected, abashed; (b) (of a horse) having the ridge of the neck hanging to one side. crest-line (a) a series of ridges; (b) the skyline of a ridge.
cresting noun (a) Architecture an ornamental ridging to a wall or roof; (b) ornamental edging on a chair, settee, etc.: M19.
crestless adjective L16.