Crown

Forms: α. (1 corona, acc. -an); 2–4 corune, 4–5 coron(e, coroune, corun, 4–6 coroun, 5 corown(e, 6 coronne; β. 2–4 crune, 4 crun, crone, cron, 4–6 croune, croun, 4–7 crowne, (5 crounne, crowun, 6 crownde), 7– crown. [ME. croun(e, earlier crun(e, syncopated from coroune, corune, corone, a. AF. coroune, in early ONF. corune, curune (central OF. corone, coronne, in 13th c. couronne) = Pr., Sp., It. corona:—L. corōna crown, orig. wreath, chaplet.

  The 11th c. corona in the O. E. Chron. was directly from L. The syncopated crune was used already in the 12th c.; but the fuller form survived beside it to the 16th c.]

  1.  An ornamental fillet, wreath, or similar encircling ornament for the head, worn for personal adornment, or as a mark of honor or achievement; a coronal or wreath of leaves or flowers.

c. 1325.  E. E. Allit. P., A. 237. A pyȝt coroune ȝet wer þat gyrle, Of mariorys & non oþer ston.

1382.  Wyclif, Ezek. xxiv. 23. Ȝe shulen haue corowns [Vulg. coronas] in ȝoure heedis, and … ȝe shulen not weile nor wepe.

c. 1386.  Chaucer, Sec. Nun’s T., 221. This aungel had of roses and of lilie Corounes tuo.

1483.  Cath. Angl., 84. A Crowne, laurea.

1592.  R. D., Hypnerotomachia, 65. Nymphes … about their heades wearing Garlandes and Crownes of Violets.

1610.  Shaks., Temp., IV. i. 129. You Nimphs cald Nayades … With your sedg’d crownes.

1720.  Ozell, Vertot’s Rom. Rep., I. IV. 241. He had obtained fourteen Civic Crowns … three Mural Crowns.

1766.  Porny, Heraldry (1787), 207–9. The Romans had ten different Crowns to reward Martial exploits, and extraordinary services done to the Republic, such as: The Mural-Crown…. The Naval or Rostral-Crown, [etc.].

1877.  J. D. Chambers, Div. Worship, 295. Flowers, sometimes woven into garlands and crowns.

  b.  fig. Chiefly referring to the wreath with which the victor was crowned in the ancient Grecian and Roman games, or to the AUREOLA of a martyr, virgin, or doctor, as victor over the world, the flesh, or the devil; usually the sense is more or less idealized or spiritualized (e.g., in crown of martyrdom, martyr’s crown; no cross, no crown, etc.), or transferred to any kind of honorable distinction or reward bestowed upon a victor.

c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 39. Drihten bihat þon wakiende ane crune þet scal beon seofesiðe brihtre þene þa sunne.

a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 160. Þeos þreo maner men habbeð ine heouene mid ouer fulle mede—crune upe crune.

1382.  Wyclif, 2 Tim. iv. 8. In the tothir tyme a crowne of riȝtwysnesse is kept to me. Ibid., Rev. ii. 10. Be thou feithful vnto the deeth, and I shal ȝiue to thee a coroun of lijf.

1526.  Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 273. Whiche is onely reserued for the finall crowne and rewarde of all our labours.

1839.  Yeowell, Anc. Brit. Ch., Pref. (1847), 11. Some … received the crown of martyrdom during the Diocletian persecution.

1855.  H. Reed, Lect. Eng. Lit., v. (1878), 167. His brow, on which four-score years had placed their crown of glory. [See AUREOLA, quots. 1483, 1626.]

  2.  spec. The cincture or covering for the head, made of or adorned with precious metals and jewels, worn by a monarch as a mark or symbol of sovereignty; a diadem.

1085.  O. E. Chron. (Laud MS.). Her se cyng bær his corona and heold his hired on Winceastre. Ibid. (1111). On þison ʓeare ne bær se kyng Henri his coronan.

c. 1200.  Ormin, 8180. Onn hiss hæfedd wærenn twa Gildene cruness sette.

c. 1250.  Gen. & Ex., 2638. His corune on his heued he dede.

1297.  R. Glouc. (1724), 376. Þre syþe he ber croune a-ȝer.

c. 1385.  Chaucer, L. G. W., Prol. 216. A quene … a whit Corone sche ber.

a. 1400–50.  Alexander, 193. With corone & with conyschantis as it a kynge were.

1535.  Coverdale, Esther ii. 17. He set the quenes croune vpon hir heade.

1597.  Shaks., 2 Hen. IV., III. i. 31. Vneasie lyes the Head that weares a Crowne.

1603–4.  Act 1–2 Jas. I., c. 1 § 3. Sithence the Imperial Crown of this Realm descended to you.

1845.  Sarah Austin, Ranke’s Hist. Ref., I. 343. The pope’s triple crown.

1870.  Jeaffreson, Bk. abt. Clergy, II. 227. A chief influence in the many forces that put the crown on his son’s head.

  b.  Christ’s crown of thorns.

c. 950.  Lindisf. Gosp., John xix. 2. Coronam de spinis, of ðornum ða corona vel þæt siʓbeʓ of ðornum.

c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 121. Mid þornene crune his heaued wes icruned.

1375.  Barbour, Bruce, III. 460. The naylis, and the sper, And the croune that Ihesu couth ber.

c. 1400.  Maundev. (Roxb.), ii. 7. Þat coroun was made of braunches of albespyne.

1611.  Bible, Matt. xxvii. 29. When they had platted a crowne of thornes, they put it vpon his head.

1836.  Macgillivray, Humboldt’s Trav., xxii. 315. Beggars carrying a crown of thorns on their heads, asked alms, with crucifixes in their hands.

  3.  fig. The sovereignty, authority or dominion of which a crown is the symbol; the rule, position or empire of a monarch.

  Chiefly in phrases in which the sense, originally literal, has ceased to be analysed.

1340–70.  Alex. & Dind., 978. Emperour alixandre … þe kiddeste y-core þat corone weldus.

1393.  Gower, Conf., III. 167. What emperour was entronized The firste day of his corone.

c. 1460.  Fortescue, Abs. & Lim. Mon., xix. Þat he hath then enriched is crowne with … riches and possescions.

1577.  B. Googe, Heresbach’s Husb., I. (1586), 6. Saul from his Asses, and David from his sheepe were called to the crowne.

1590.  Shaks., Com. Err., I. i. 144. Against my Crowne, my oath, my dignity.

1659.  Vulgar Errours Censured, 27. Osiris King of Ægypt thought it not below his crown to have commerce with Physicall rules.

1796.  Morse, Amer. Geog., I. 114. John Cabot … obtained a … commission … to discover unknown lands and annex them to the crown.

1871.  Freeman, Norm. Conq. (1876), IV. xvii. 68. A conqueror whose crown might at any moment be threatened by a Scandinavian rival.

  4.  fig. The wearer of a crown; the monarch in his official character; the supreme governing power of a state under a monarchical constitution.

1579.  Tomson, Calvin’s Serm. Tim., 985/2. Hee might haue ben thought to haue beene of the crowne, as the Kings daughters adopted sonne?

1714.  Swift, Pres. State of Affairs. He was treated contemptibly enough by the young princes of France, even during the war; is now wholly neglected by that crown.

1734.  trans. Rollin’s Anc. Hist. (1827), VII. XVIII. i. 366. During the interval of this truce a treaty was negotiated between the two crowns.

1780.  Burke, Corr. (1844), II. 338. The resentment of the crown is a serious thing.

1788.  Priestley, Lect. Hist., V. xlvi. 342. The commons … ventured to … give advice to the crown.

1827.  Hallam, Const. Hist. (1876), III. xiv. 90. The assertion of passive obedience to the crown grew obnoxious to the crown itself.

1844.  H. H. Wilson, Brit. India, I. 243. The pardon of the Crown was granted.

  5.  fig. That which adorns like a crown; a chief or crowning ornament.

c. 1368.  Chaucer, Compl. Pite, 75. Ye be also the corowne of beaute.

1382.  Wyclif, Prov. xii. 4. A bisi womman a croune is to hir man. Ibid., xvi. 31. The croune of dignete elde, that in the weie of riȝtwisnesse shal be founde.

1611.  Shaks., Wint. T., III. ii. 95. The crowne and comfort of my Life (your Fauor) I doe giue lost.

1662.  Stillingfl., Orig. Sacr., II. vii. § 5. Every place of holy Scripture may have its crown, but some may have their aureolæ, a greater excellency.

1829.  Southey, All for Love, III. They were the pride, the joy, The crown of his old age.

1861.  Tulloch, Eng. Purit., iii. 390. It was the very singleness of his spiritual energy, that made his excellence and crown.

  II.  Something having or bearing the figure or the representation of a crown.

  6.  a. Any crown-shaped ornament. b. A figure of a crown for heraldic or other purposes. c. A frequent sign, and hence name, of an inn, alone or in combination, as the Crown and Sceptre, Rose and Crown, etc.

c. 1250.  Gen. & Ex., 3789. Corunes at ðe alter of bras.

1766.  Porny, Heraldry (1787), 208. The Mural-Crown…. Examples of this Crown are frequently met with in Achievements.

1875.  W. M‘Ilwraith, Guide to Wigtownshire, 55. Bearing two unicorns and a lion rampant and the Crown.

1885.  E. B. Evans, Philatelic Handbk., 118. [1d. stamp] Watermark a Small Crown; imperforate. Ibid., 160. Jamaica: Watermark a Pineapple … Wmk. Crown and CC… Wmk. Crown and CA.

  7.  Astron. The name of two constellations, the Northern and Southern Crown: see CORONA 8.

[c. 1385.  Chaucer, L. G. W., 339, Ariadne. And in the signe of Taurus men may see The stonys of hire Corone shyne clere.]

1551.  Recorde, Cast. Knowl. (1556), 264. The northe Croune, called also Ariadnes Croune. Ibid., 270. There is the Croune of the southe, formed of 13 small starres.

1870.  Proctor, Other Worlds, x. 246. Such variable stars as the one which recently blazed out in the Northern Crown.

  8.  A name of various coins; originally one bearing the imprint of a crown. a. orig. A translation of the French name couronne (denier à la couronne), given to a gold coin bearing on the obverse a large crown, issued by Philip of Valois in 1339, or applied to the écu à la couronne of Charles VI., issued in and after 1384, in which the shield was surmounted by a crown; and from the 15th to the 18th c. the common English name for the F. écu, as well as for other foreign coins of similar value; in more recent times used also for the krone of various northern countries. Crown of the Sun [F. escu sol, Cotgr., écu d’or au soleil, Littré]: a gold écu much current in England in the 15–16th c., the type of the first English Crown: see b.

1430.  Lydg., Chron. Troy, IV. xxx. The change is not so redy for to make In Lumbarde Strete of crowne nor doket.

1433.  Caxton, G. de la Tour, C iij. They dare bye gownes of three or foure score crownes.

1525.  Ld. Berners, Froiss., II. clxvii. [clxiii.] 462. The tresourers made redy the money in Crownes of the Sonne, and put it into foure cofers.

1530.  Palsgr., 211/1. Crowne, a pece of golde, escu.

1548.  Hall, Chron. (1809), 313. That the French Kyng … should paie … without delaie lxxv M Crounes of the Sunne & yerely l M crounes to be paied at London, whiche, accoumptyng a crowne at iiij s, amounteth to x M l.

1577.  Harrison, England, II. xxv. (1877), I. 364. Of forren coines we haue … the French and Flemish crownes, onlie currant among vs, so long as they hold weight.

1597.  Shaks., 2 Hen. IV., III. ii. 236. Stand my friend, and heere is foure Harry tenne shillings in French Crownes for you.

1639.  Massinger, Unnat. Combat, I. i. Present your bag, crammed with crowns of the sun.

1727–51.  Chambers, Cycl., Crown, in commerce, is a general name for coins both foreign and domestic, of or near the value of five shillings sterling … as the French ecu, which we call the French crown, struck in 1641 for sixty sols, or three livres; also the patagon, dollar, ducatoon, rix-dollar, and piastre, or piece of eight.

1819.  Shelley, Cenci, IV. ii. One who thinks A thousand crowns excellent market price For an old murderer’s life.

  b.  A coin (now silver) of Great Britain of the value of five shillings; hence the sum of five shillings.

  The gold ‘Crown of the Rose’ was coined by Henry VIII. in 1526, in imitation of the French Crown of the Sun or Louis XII. or Francis I.; crowns and half-crowns in silver have been in circulation since the reign of Edw. VI.

1542.  Recorde, Gr. Artes (1575), 197. A Crowne containeth 5s.: &the halfe Crowne 2s. 6d. How bee it there is another Crowne of 4s. 6d., whiche is knowen by the rose side: for the rose hath no Crowne ouer it, as in the other Crowne, but it is enuironed on the 4 quarters with 4 floure deluce.

1577.  Harrison, England, II. xxv. (1877), I. 363. The new gold … Our peeces now currant are … quarters of souereigns (otherwise called crownes) and halfe crownes.

1688.  R. Holme, Armoury, III. 28/2. A Crown, or five Shillings Gold, is the least peece we have in England.

1712.  Steele, Spect., No. 266, ¶ 2. I … could not forbear giving her a Crown.

1732.  Law, Serious C., vii. (ed. 2), 96. She will toss him half a Crown, or a Crown.

1838.  Dickens, O. Twist, xviii. I’ll bet a crown!

  9.  A size of paper, originally watermarked with the figure of a crown.

  It measures 15 × 20 inches; in U.S. 15 × 19 inches.

1712.  Act 10 Anne, in Lond. Gaz., No. 5018/3. Paper called … Genoa Crown.

1766.  C. Leadbetter, Royal Gauger, II. xiv. (ed. 6), 372. Large Post, Crown, Printing Foolscap.

1790.  Wolcott (P. Pindar), Benev. Ep. to Sylv. Urban, Wks. 1812, II. 261. His nice discerning Knowledge none deny, On Crown, Imperial, Foolscap, and Demy.

1878.  Print. Trades Jrnl., xxv. 17. A bulky crown 8^vo, selling at threepence.

  III.  Something having the circular form of a crown or encircling wreath.

  † 10.  The tonsure of a cleric; cf. CORONA 5.

c. 1205.  Lay., 13110. Þe hod hongede adun, alse he hudde his crune.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 27251 (Cott.). Or cron þat es o clergi merc.

c. 1325.  Poem Times Edw. II., 115, in Pol. Songs (Camden), 329. Some beareth croune of acolyte.

c. 1380.  Wyclif, Wks. (1880), 467. Crounne & cloþ maken no prest.

c. 1449.  Pecock, Repr., III. xvii. 387. Whanne a persoon is mad first clerk and takith his firste corown for to be therbi oon of the clergie.

1480.  Caxton, Chron. Eng., lxvii. 50. This traytour put vpp on hym an abyte of Relygyon and lete shaue hym a brode crowne.

1533.  Elyot, Cast. Helthe (1541), 80 b. Ashamyd of theyr crounes that reverend token of the order of preesthode.

  † b.  Priest’s crown: a popular name of dandelion seed. Obs.

1530.  Palsgr., 179. Barbedieu, the sede of dandelyon whiche children call preestes crownes. Ibid., 258/2. Prestes crowne that flyeth about in somer, barbedieu.

  11.  = CORONA 1.

1563.  Fulke, Meteors (1640), 41 b. This thick and watry cloud is not … under the Sunne, for then it would make the Circles, called crownes or garlands.

1815.  T. Forster, Atmospheric Phaenom. (ed. 2), 97. Meteorologists have spoken of halos and crowns of light.

1823.  W. Scoresby, Jrnl. Whale-Fishery, 283. The anthelion … combined with the concentric crowns, has, I believe, been observed by very few.

  12.  † a. A whorl or verticil of flowers. b. = CORONA 7 b. c. A circular projection or rim round the top of the fruit of some plants. (See also 25 b.)

1578.  Lyte, Dodoens, II. lxx. 239. The small floures are purple, and grow like Crownes or whorles at the toppe of the stemmes.

1870.  Hooker, Stud. Flora, 202. Chrysanthemum leucanthemum.… Fruits all terete equally ribbed … with a small crown. Ibid., 364. Amaryllideæ.… Perianth superior … with sometimes a crown at the mouth of the tube. Ibid., 365. Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus … crown campanulate.

  † 13.  A ring. a. in Geom. b. A ring or circle of persons, etc. Obs.

c. 1611.  Chapman, Iliad, XV. 7. With a crown of princes compassed.

1706.  Phillips (ed. Kersey), s.v., In Geometry, Crown signifies a plain Ring included between two Concentric Perimeters. [Hence in later Dicts.]

  14.  A circular chandelier; = CORONA 3.

1845.  Ecclesiologist, March, 91. The choir is lighted by two crowns, each carrying six tapers.

1853.  Rock, Ch. of Fathers, IV. 28. Beautiful, ornamented metal hoops called ‘crowns,’ which hung from the church’s roof.

1877.  J. D. Chambers, Div. Worship, 5.

  15.  Surg. The circular serrated edge of a trepan.

1758.  J. S., Le Dran’s Observ. Surg. (1771), 61. I applied the Crown of the Trepan.

1787.  C. B. Trye, in Med. Commun., II. 149. I used a large crown.

  16.  In med.L. corona ecclesiæ was the circular apse of a great church behind the choir; hence, according to some, the name Becket’s or St. Thomas’s Crown, given to the eastern apse or circular tower of Canterbury Cathedral. (But the origin of the name is much disputed.)

1640.  Somner, Canterbury, 163–4. Upon the beautifying of Saint Thomas Crowne, that is Beckets Crowne, was expended … 115^l. 12^s.

1726.  Dart, Canterb. Cathedr., 30.

1816.  Woolnoth, Canterb., 72. We enter the tower … called Becket’s Crown; in which stands the patriarchal chair.

1845.  Willis, Canterb. Cath., 56, note.

  IV.  Something that occupies the position of a crown; the top or highest part of anything, the vertex or vertical surface.

  17.  The top part of the skull; the vertex. (See esp. quot. 1589.)

c. 1300.  Havelok, 568. Hise croune he ther crakede Ageyn a gret ston.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 5447 (Cott.). He laid his hand a-pon þair cron, And gaue þam serekin beneson.

c. 1380.  Sir Ferumb., 303. Cristes cors come on hure croun.

c. 1400.  Lanfranc’s Cirurg., 111. Whanne þat þe crounne of þe heed is perfiȝt þe heed is maad in þis maner.

c. 1450.  St. Cuthbert (Surtees), 923. How cuthbert childe stode on his croune.

c. 1485.  Digby Myst. (1882), IV. 310. From the Crowne of the hede vnto the too.

1589.  Puttenham, Eng. Poesie, III. (Arb.), 189. In deede crowne is the highest ornament of a Princes head … or els the top of a mans head, where the haire windes about.

1610.  Shaks., Temp., IV. i. 233. From toe to crowne hee’l fill our skins with pinches.

1816.  Keatinge, Trav. (1817), I. 222. The Arabs … with their bare shaven crowns exposed to its full rays.

1887.  Besant, The World went, xiv. 112. He would crack the crown of any man who ventured to make love to his girl.

  b.  By extension: The head.

1594.  Shaks., Rich. III., III. ii. 43. Ile haue this Crown of mine cut from my shoulders, Before Ile see the Crowne so foule mis-plac’d.

1628.  Prynne, Love-lockes, 49. Those men who curle their crownes like women.

1692.  R. L’Estrange, Josephus, Antiq., XVII. xiv. (1733), 477. With these Crotchets in his Crown, away he went for Rome.

1728.  R. North, Mem. Musick (1846), 125. A cappriccio came in his crowne to make the like for Paris.

  c.  The eminence on the head of a whale, in which the blow-holes are situated.

1820.  Scoresby, Acc. Arctic Reg., II. 219. Whales may frequently be seen … elevating and breaking the ice with their crowns.

1822.  G. W. Manby, Voy. Greenland (1823), 45. The pointed part of the head, termed the crown, where the spiracles or blow-holes are situated.

  18.  The rounded summit of a mountain or other elevation.

1583.  Stanyhurst, Æneis, II. (Arb.), 69. My father to the crowne of mounten I lifted.

1605.  Shaks., Lear, IV. vi. 67. Vpon the crowne o’ th Cliffe.

1725.  De Foe, Voy. round World (1840), 352. The land went ascending up to a round crown or knoll.

1808.  Scott, Marm., III. xxii. The rampart seek, whose circling crown [etc.].

1872.  Jenkinson, Guide Eng. Lakes (1879), 142. A gradual ascent to the crown of the hill.

  19.  The highest or central part of an arch or of any arched surface, as a field ridge, a road, causeway, bridge, etc. Crown of the causeway: the central and most prominent part of the pavement or street.

1635.  Rutherford, Lett. (1862), I. 149. Truth will yet keep the crown of the causey in Scotland.

1765.  A. Dickson, Treat. Agric., II. (ed. 2), 282. When the crown of a ridge is turned into a furrow.

1795.  Burke, Regic. Peace, iv. Wks. IX. 122. They will take the crown of the causeway.

1816.  Scott, Antiq., xxi. I keep the crown o’ the causey when I gae to the borough.

1856.  Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc., XVII. I. 328. The crown of the ridge is isolated, raised out of reach of the re-active moisture from below.

1872.  O. Shipley, Gloss. Eccl. Terms, 40. Every arch is said to be surmounted if the height of its crown above the level of its impost be greater than half its span.

1877.  Mrs. Oliphant, Makers Flor., v. 127. Marching with honest resounding steps,… holding the crown of the causeway.

1879.  Thomson & Tait, Nat. Phil., I. I. § 60. According as the crown of the solar tide precedes or follows the crown of the lunar tide.

  20.  The top of a hat or other covering for the head; esp. the flat circular top of the modern hat.

1678.  Evelyn, Mem. (1857), II. 126. They had furred caps with coped crowns.

1709.  Steele & Swift, Tatler, No. 71, ¶ 8. From the Crown of his Nightcap to the Heels of his Shoes.

1758.  Mitchell, in Phil. Trans., LI. 225. As broad as a hat crown.

1891.  Baring-Gould, In Troubadour-Land, ii. 28. Tired … of looking into the crown of her hat.

  21.  The rounded top of a brewer’s copper.

1669.  Sturmy, Mariner’s Mag., V. viii. 34. How to Measure a Segment or portion of a Globe or Sphere, which serves for a … Crown in a Brewers Copper.

1712.  in Lond. Gaz., No. 5006/4. Coppers with … taper Sides … and Crown for the Stilheads.

  22.  The flattened or rounded roof of a tent or building.

1725.  De Foe, Voy. round World (1840), 268. A large canopy … spread like the crown of a tent.

1869.  Sir E. J. Reed, Shipbuild., xi. 235. Watertight flats, such as crowns to magazines, platforms, &c.

1887.  Stevenson, Underwoods, I. xxxv. 69. Its crown Of glittering glass.

  23.  The top, with the canons, of a bell.

1756.  Dict. Arts & Sc., s.v. Bell, The pallet or crown which is the cover of the Bell, and supports the staple of the clapper within.

1857.  Lukis, Acc. Ch. Bells, 21. The crown or head of the bell, for the formation of the canons, is then fitted to the top.

  24.  Arch. The uppermost member of a cornice; the corona or larmier; = CORONA 4.

1611.  Cotgr., Couronne … (In Architecture) also, the Corona, crowne, or member of greatest sayle, in a Cornish.

  25.  In plants: a. The leafy head of a tree or shrub; b. The cluster of leaves on the top of a pine-apple; c. The flattened top of a seed, etc.; d. Crown of the root: the summit of the root whence the stem arises; the subterranean bud of a herbaceous perennial.

1589.  Puttenham, Eng. Poesie, III. (Arb.), 189. To call the top of a tree … the crowne of a tree;… because such terme … is transported from a mans head to a hill or tree, therefore it is called by metaphore, or the figure of transport.

1698.  T. Froger, Relat. Voy., 59. The Ananas grows like an Artichoak…. It bears a Crown of the same leaves.

1846.  J. Baxter, Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4), I. 157. Plant some of the largest and best roots early in spring … inserting the crown about two inches below the surface.

1847.  Illust. Lond. News, 17 July, 36/3. In preparing to serve a Pine-apple, at table, first remove the crown.

1851.  Glenny, Handbk. Fl. Gard., 7. [Primulas] are propagated by dividing the tufts into separate crowns with roots attached.

1857.  Livingstone, Trav., xviii. 344. It rises thirty or forty feet … and there spreads out a second crown where it can enjoy a fair share of the sun’s rays.

1863.  Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc., XXIV. I. 219. The men cut the plants [carrots] off under the crowns, otherwise they will shoot again.

1870.  Hooker, Stud. Flora, 255. Hyoscyamus … Capsule … bursting transversely at the crown.

  26.  Farriery. The CORONET of a horse’s hoof.

1611.  Cotgr., Couronne … also, the crowne, top, or beginning of a horses hoofe.

  27.  The upper part of a deer’s horn; the crest, as of a bird.

1774.  Goldsm., Nat. Hist. (1862), I. II. v. 325. All the rest which grow afterwards, till you come to the top, which is called the crown, are called royal-antlers.

  28.  Anat. That portion of a tooth which appears beyond the gums.

1804.  Abernethy, Surg. Obs., 58. The whole crown of the tooth may be destroyed to the level of the gum.

1854.  Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc., XV. II. 288. The several parts of a tooth are the crown, neck, and fang.

  29.  In lapidaries’ work, the part of a cut gem above the girdle.

1875.  Ure, Dict. Arts, II. 25 s.v. Diamond, Crown, the upper work of the rose, which all centres in the point at the top, and is bounded by the horizontal ribs.

  30.  The end of the shank of an anchor, or the point from which the arms proceed.

1875.  Bedford, Sailor’s Pock. Bk., vi. (ed. 2), 216. If anchoring a boat on rocky ground, bend the cable to the crown of the anchor, and stop it to the ring before letting go.

  31.  Mech. Any terminal flat member of a structure; the face of an anvil.

  † 32.  A kind of verse, in which the last line of each stanza is repeated to head the next stanza.

1580.  Sidney, Arcadia (1622), 217. Strephon againe began this Dizaine, which was answered vnto him in that kinde of verse which is called the crowne.

  33.  fig. That which crowns anything; the crowning, consummation, completion or perfection.

c. 1611.  Chapman, Iliad, II. 104. We fly, not putting on the crown of our so long-held war, Of which there yet appears no end.

1784.  Cowper, Task, V. 904. Thou art of all thy gifts thyself the crown.

1806–7.  J. Beresford, Miseries Hum. Life (1826), II. x. The crown of the catastrophe.

1884.  W. C. Smith, Kildrostan, 94.

  V.  34. attrib. and Comb. a. Of or pertaining to a regal crown or to the Crown (senses 2–4): as crown demesne, due, duty, gleek, government, grant, oath, property, rape, rent, revenue, right, vassal. b. In the translated titles of foreign (chiefly Polish) officials, as crown chamberlain, ensign, general, hunter, referendary, standard-bearer, watchmaster. c. Pertaining to the crown, as crown cribbage, table, whist; crown-broad adj. d. Used to designate a quality or brand of an article, as crown log, soap, ware. e. Pertaining to the top of the head, corona of a plant, etc., as crown bloom, end, lock, set; crown-distempered adj. Also crown-like adj.

1852.  Beck’s Florist, 236. Chance *crown-blooms from the general stock.

1830.  Galt, Lawrie T., V. viii. (1849), 226. His coat … adorned with large brazen *crown-broad buttons.

1704.  Lond. Gaz., No. 4073/3. The Crown-General Lubomirski and the *Crown-Chamberlain his Brother had made their Submission.

1764.  Priv. Lett. Ld. Malmesbury, I. 105. I played one rubber of *crown cribbage.

1635.  Quarles, Embl., I. ix. (1718), 37. Like *crown-distemper’d fools, despise True riches.

1875.  W. M‘Ilwraith, Guide to Wigtownshire, 76. McDowall had fallen behind in the payment of certain *crown-dues, and was outlawed.

1684.  Scanderbeg Rediv., iii. 32. Soon after the *Crown-General Potosky departing this Life.

1687.  Dryden, Hind & P., II. 410. You seem crown-gen’ral of the land.

1647.  N. Bacon, Disc. Govt. Eng., I. xlvii. (1739), 78. The Popes meaned no less Game than *Crown-glieke with the King and people.

1883.  J. Fiske, in Harper’s Mag., Feb., 414/2. The Government of Virginia, after the suppression of the Company in 1624, was a *Crown government: the governor and council were appointed by the king.

1796.  Hull Advertiser, 3 Sept., 2/3. A parcel of fine wainscot Riga *Crown logs.

1649.  Milton, Eikon., xxviii. 524. The ancient *Crown-Oath of Alfred.

1874.  Helps, Soc. Press., iv. 62. Who manages all the *Crown property about here?

1587.  Mirr. Mag., Rudacke, i. *Crownerape accounted but cunning and skill.

1710.  Irish Ho. Com., 6 June, in Lond. Gaz., No. 4706/2. Quit Rents, *Crown-Rents and Composition Rents.

1614.  Selden, Titles Hon., 243. Before him … [was] … the *crown-reuenew accompted.

1592.  Warner, Alb. Eng., VII. xxxiv. (R.). To whom, from her, the *crowne-right of Lancastrians did accrewe.

1892.  A. J. Palmer, in Daily News, 5 Oct., 3/1. The gulf which separates us from those who question the Deity, the atonement, and the crown rights of the Son of God.

1725.  Bradley, Fam. Dict., s.v. Liquorish, The best sets … are *Crown sets or heads got from the very top of the root.

1684.  Scanderbeg Rediv., v. 95. Troops under the Command of the *Crown-standard-bearer.

1811.  L. M. Hawkins, C’tess & Gertr., II. 57. ‘Ever a *crown-table here, do you know?’

1814.  Scott, Chivalry (1874), 26. The nobles and high *crown-vassals.

1881.  Porcelain Works, Worcester, 10. *Crown Ware [superior earthenware], a speciality.

1684.  Scanderbeg Rediv., iv. 86–7. The *Crown Watchmaster was posted next the Neister.

1753.  A. Murphy, Gray’s-Inn Jrnl., No. 34. She plays *Crown Whist.

  35.  Special combs.: crown-agent, agent for the Crown; in Scotland, ‘an agent or solicitor who, under the Lord Advocate, takes charge of criminal proceedings’ (Bell, Dict. Sc. Law); crown-antler, the topmost antler or ramification of a stag’s horn; crown-beam, the cross-joint or cross-beam at the apex of a pair of brace beams; crown-beard, a composite plant of the genus Verbesina, a native of America; † crown-benet, ? a benet who has received the tonsure; crown-bone, the bone of the ‘crown’ of a whale, see 17 c; crown-cases reserved, criminal cases reserved on points of law for the consideration of the judges; crown-colony, a colony in which the legislation and the administration are under the control of the home government; crown-court, the court in which the criminal business of an Assize is transacted, as distinguished from the civil court; crown-crane, see CRANE sb.¹ 1; † crown-croacher, for crown-encroacher, one who encroaches on a crown; crown-daisy, the old garden Chrysanthemum, C. coronarium; † crown-day, coronation day; crown-debt, a debt due to the Crown, which has preference over all other debts; crown-eater, trans. Germ. kronenfresser, nickname of the Swiss mercenaries who took service with the French; crown-gate, the up-stream or head gate of the lock of a canal, etc.; † crown-gold, gold of the quality of which crowns were coined; crown-graft, a graft inserted between the inner bark and the alburnum; hence crown-grafting; crown-head, in Draughts, the marginal row of the board nearest each player, cf. CROWN v.¹ 13; crown-jewels, the jewels that form part of the regalia; crown law, the part of the common law that relates to the treatment of crimes, the criminal law; crown lawyer, a lawyer in the service of the Crown; a lawyer who practises in criminal cases; crown living, a church living in the gift of the Crown; crown matrimonial, a regal crown obtained or claimed through marriage with the sovereign; crown-mural, † -mure, = MURAL crown; crown-net (see quot.); crown-palm, Maximiliana Caribæa, found on some West Indian islands; crown-pigeon = crowned pigeon, see CROWNED 6; † crown-pin, a pin or stopper to close the top of a hive; crown-saw, a kind of circular saw with the teeth on the edge of a hollow cylinder, as in a trepan saw, etc. (cf. sense 15); crown-sheet, the upper plate of the fire-box of a locomotive; crown-shell, a barnacle or acorn-shell; † crown-shorn a., tonsured; crown-side, the portion of the Court of Queen’s Bench which has to deal with criminal matters, the crown office; crown solicitor, a solicitor who prepares criminal prosecutions for the Crown; crown-sparrow, a sparrow of the American genus Zonotrichia, having a conspicuously colored crown; crown-tax, a tax paid to the Crown; a tribute paid by the Jews to the kings of Syria (see quot.); † crown-thistle, a species of Thistle, Carduus eriophorus (in some Dicts. erroneously identified with CROWN-IMPERIAL 2); crown-tile (see quot.); crown-tree, a support for the roof in a coal-mine; crown-valve, a dome-shaped valve that works over a box with slotted sides; crown-witness, a witness for the Crown in a criminal prosecution instituted by it.

1889.  Whitaker’s Alm., 152. *Crown Agents for the Colonies. Ibid., 155. Lord Advocate’s Office … Crown Agent in Edinburgh.

1776.  G. Semple, Building in Water, 4. The *Crown-Beams … projected from three to five Feet.

1555.  Sir J. Balfour, in C. Innes, Sk. Early Sc. Hist. (1861), 129. He hes producit ane testimonial of his order of *crownebennet.

1792.  Trans. Soc. Encourag. Arts, III. 155. A harpoon … struck the fish in the *crown-bone of the head.

1820.  Scoresby, Acc. Arctic Reg., I. 454. The upper-jaw, including the ‘crown-bone,’ or skull, is bent.

1889.  Whitaker’s Alm., 172. *Crown Cases Reserved Court. Judges.—The Judges of the High Court of Justice.

1845.  Penny Cycl., Supp. I. 394/1. (Colonial Agents) A person called the agent-general acts for the *crown colonies; but where there is a local legislature the appointment is generally made by it.

1889.  Whitaker’s Alm., 433/1. Hong Kong … the colony is a Crown colony.

1587.  Mirr. Mag. (N.). Sith stories all doe tell in every age, How these *crowne-croachers come to shamefull ends.

1882.  Garden, 14 Jan., 22/3. All the sorts that have chiefly sprung from the *Crown Daisy … have a preponderance of white and yellow.

1609.  Heywood, Brit. Troy, XVI. xcii. He … his neere Neece upon his *Crowne-day rauisht.

1818.  Cruise, Digest (ed. 2), I. 515. An assignment of a term for years will not protect a purchaser from a *crown debt.

1845.  Sarah Austin, Ranke’s Hist. Ref., III. 65. They demanded the punishment of the ‘German-French,’ the *‘crown-eaters.’

1530.  in Gutch, Coll. Cur., II. 287. For every ounce channge of the golde betwene *corone golde and fine golde iiijs. iiijd.

1712.  E. Hatton, Merch. Mag., 130. Fine Gold to Crown Gold, is in Value, As 1 to .9167.

1727.  Bradley, Fam. Dict., s.v. Grafting, A *Crown-graft is very easy to be put in between the Wood and the Rind of the Tree you would graft upon.

1727–51.  Chambers, Cycl., s.v. Engrafting, *Crown-grafting is when four or more grafts are put round the stock, between the bark and the rind, somewhat in the manner of a crown.

1649.  Milton, Eikon., viii. The queen [was gone] into Holland, where she pawned and set to sale the *crown jewels.

1856.  Emerson, Eng. Traits, Ability, Wks. (Bohn), II. 37. The diamond Koh-i-noor, which glitters among their crown jewels.

1769.  Blackstone, Comm., IV. 3. Our *crown-law is with justice supposed to be more nearly advanced to perfection.

1771.  Goldsm., Hist. Eng., IV. xxxvii. (Joddr.). The *crown-lawyers received directions to prosecute them for a seditious libel.

1872.  E. Peacock, Mabel Heron, I. iv. 66. The small *crown living … was given to him.

1864.  Burton, Scot Abr., I. iv. 197. Conferring on the Dauphin the *‘crown matrimonial.’

1874.  Green, Short Hist., vii. 378. Mary’s scornful refusal of his [Darnley’s] claim of the ‘crown matrimonial’ … drove his jealousy to madness.

1682.  Wheler, Journ. Greece, III. 264. A Figure, with a *Crown-mure, with these Letters about it.

1766.  Pennant, Zool. (1769), III. 272. The fishermen make use of what is called a *crown-net, which is no more than a hemispherical basket, open at top and bottom.

1641.  Best, Farm. Bks. (Surtees), 62. Make the *crowne-pinne very rownde and fitte for the crowne of the hive.

1563–87.  Foxe, A. & M. (1684), III. 106. The whole *crownshorn company brought to utter shame.

1768.  Blackstone, Comm., III. 42. The former in what is called the *crown-side or crown-office; the latter in the plea-side of the court.

1845.  Penny Cycl., Supp. I. 443/1. In Ireland there are officers called *crown solicitors attached to each circuit, whose duty it is to get up every case for the crown in criminal prosecutions.

1535.  Coverdale, 1 Macc. xi. 35. The customes of salt and *crowne taxes.

1611.  Bible, 1 Macc. x. 29. I release all the Iewes from … crowne taxes.

1706.  Phillips (ed. Kersey), A *Crown-thistle or Friers Crown-thistle, a sort of Herb.

1823.  P. Nicholson, Pract. Build., Gloss. s.v. Tile, Plane-tiles and *Crown-tiles are of a rectangular form.

1816.  J. Hodgson, in J. Raine, Mem. (1857), I. 181. The roof was supported by *crown-trees … of wood.

1851.  Greenwell, Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh., 20. Crowntrees are best made of larch, as being most durable.

1892.  Daily News, 21 April, 5/4. The roof of a seven-feet seam of coal required to be supported by what are called ‘crown trees.’

1859.  Dickens, T. Two Cities, II. v. You were very sound, Syd, in the matter of those *crown witnesses to-day.