crown

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English coroune, crowne, from Anglo-French corone, from Latin corona wreath, crown, from Greek korōnē culmination, something curved like a crow's beak, literally, crow; akin to Latin cornix crow, Greek korax raven — more at raven Date: 12th century 1. a reward of victory or mark of honor; especially the title representing the championship in a sport 2. a royal or imperial headdress or cap of sovereignty ; diadem 3. the highest part: as a. the topmost part of the skull or head b. the summit of a mountain c. the head of foliage of a tree or shrub d. the part of a hat or other headgear covering the crown of the head e. the part of a tooth external to the gum or an artificial substitute for this — see tooth illustration 4. a wreath, band, or circular ornament for the head 5. a. something resembling a wreath or crown b. the knurled cap on top of a watch stem 6. often capitalized a. (1) imperial or regal power ; sovereignty (2) the government under a constitutional monarchy b. monarch 7. something that imparts splendor, honor, or finish ; culmination 8. a. any of several old gold coins with a crown as part of the device b. an old usually silver British coin worth five shillings 9. a. koruna b. krona c. krone 10. a. the region of a seed plant at which stem and root merge b. the thick arching end of the shank of an anchor where the arms join it — see anchor illustration • crowned adjective • crownless adjective II. verb Etymology: Middle English corounen, from Anglo-French coroner, from Latin coronare, from corona Date: 12th century transitive verb 1. a. to place a crown or wreath on the head of; specifically to invest with regal dignity and power b. to recognize officially as <

they crowned her athlete of the year

> c. to award a championship to <

crown a new champion

> 2. to bestow something on as a mark of honor or recompense ; adorn 3. surmount, top; especially to top (a checker) with a checker to make a king 4. to bring to a successful conclusion ; climax <

the role that crowned her career

> 5. to provide with something like a crown: as a. to fill so that the surface forms a crown b. to put an artificial crown on (a tooth) 6. to hit on the head intransitive verb of a forest fire to burn rapidly through the tops of trees