Added 9 October 2026

crisp

/kɹɪsp/ adjective

Latin root: crispus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about crisp at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Senses relating to curliness. Of hair: curling, especially in tight, stiff curls or ringlets; also , of a person: having hair curled in this manner.
crisp hair
Of hair: curling, especially in tight, stiff curls or ringlets; also , of a person: having hair curled in this manner.
crisp hair
Of a body of water, skin, etc.: having a surface which is rippled or wrinkled.

Senses relating to something brittle. In full potato crisp: a thin slice of potato which has been deep-fried until it is brittle and crispy, and eaten when cool; they are typically packaged and sold as a snack.
kale crisps prawn crisp
In full potato crisp: a thin slice of potato which has been deep-fried until it is brittle and crispy, and eaten when cool; they are typically packaged and sold as a snack.
kale crisps prawn crisp
Sometimes with a descriptive word: a crispy, savoury snack made of some other ingredient(s) (such as cornmeal or a vegetable) which is baked or deep-fried and eaten like a potato crisp.
kale crisps prawn crisp

The adjective is derived partly from the following: * Etymology 1, adjective sense 1: Middle English crisp (“curly, wavy”), from Old English crisp (“curly”), from Latin crispus (“of hair: crimped, curly”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kris-, from *(s)ker- (“to bend; to turn”). * Etymology 1, adjective sense 2: from the above, and probably also onomatopoeic, representing a crinkling or crunching sound. Doublet of crape and crepe. Adjective etymology 1, adjective sense 2.2.3 (“of air, weather, etc.: cool and dry”) is transferred from a description of frost or snow as “crisp”, that is, crunchy.