Crucial

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkruː.ʃəl/
• Rhymes: -uːʃəl

Origin

1706, from French crucial, a medical term for ligaments of the knee (which cross each other), from Latin crux, crucis ("cross") (English crux), from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ("to turn, to bend").

The meaning “decisive, critical” is extended from a logical term, Instantias Crucis, adopted by Francis Bacon in his influential Novum Organum (1620); the notion is of cross fingerboard signposts at forking roads, thus a requirement to choose. Specific quote is:

Novum Organum, Francis Bacon, Book Two, “Aphorisms”, Section XXXVI

Inter praerogativas instantiarum, ponemus loco decimo quarto Instantias Crucis; translato vocabulo a Crucibus, quae erectae in biviis indicant et signant viarum separationes.

Full definition of crucial

Adjective

1. Being essential or decisive for determining the outcome or future of something; extremely important.
   The battle of Tali-Ihantala in 1944 is one of the crucial moments in the history of Finland.
   A secure supply of crude oil is crucial for any modern nation, let alone a superpower.
• 2014-03-07, Nicole Vulser, Perfume manufacturers must cope with the scarcity of precious supplies, The perfume industry is facing a major problem: maintaining constant levels of quality is crucial, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain a regular supply of all the necessary natural ingredients.
2. (archaic) Cruciform or cruciate; cross-shaped.
3. (slang, chiefly Jamaica) Term of approval, particularly when applied to reggae music.
   Delbert Wilkins is the most crucial pirate radio DJ in Brixton.

Derived terms

• crucial experiment

Related terms

• cross
• crux