A Crisis Was Originally the Turning Point of an Illness
A crisis is a moment of acute difficulty. In Greek medicine it named the point at which a patient would recover or die.
A crisis is a time of intense difficulty or danger. Hippocratic medicine used it precisely: the *krisis* was the turning point in a fever, the moment at which the illness would break either way. The Greek word means a decision or judgement, from *krinein*, to separate — the same root as *critic* and *criterion*.
- A time of acute danger. *A financial crisis.*
- A turning point. *The crisis of the illness.*
- A decisive moment. *The crisis of the plot.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | crisis | A deepening crisis. |
| Plural | crises | Successive crises. |
| Adjective | critical | A critical moment. |
| Related | criterion | A single criterion. |
| Related | critic | A harsh critic. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The patient passed the crisis.The original medical sense.
- Crises is the plural.Pronounced KRY-seez.
- A crisis of confidence.A turning point in belief.
Words from *krinein*, to separate
- Crisis — a moment of decision
- Critic — one who judges
- Criterion — a standard for judging
- Critical — decisive, or fault-finding
- Discriminate — to distinguish between
From Greek *krisis*, a decision or turning point, from *krinein*, to separate or judge. Medical use came first, general use followed in the seventeenth century.
What is the plural?
Crises, pronounced KRY-seez. Crisises is not used.
Are crisis and critic related?
Yes. Both come from the Greek verb meaning to judge or separate.