English
crew
Crew comes from Old French creue ‘increase, reinforcement’, past participle of croistre ‘to grow’, from Latin crēscō ‘to grow’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- ‘to grow’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-‘to grow’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱreh₁-sḱétireconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēscō‘to grow, increase’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400croistre‘to grow’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400creue‘increase; recruit’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500crue
- Englishearliest quotation 1590crew
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-‘to grow’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱreh₁-sḱétireconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēscō‘to grow, increase’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400croistre‘to grow’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400creue‘increase; recruit’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500crue
- Englishearliest quotation 1590crew
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I, Canto IV: “There a noble crew / Of Lordes and Ladies…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-
create, creative, creator, creature, cereal, creole, procreation, kore, creat, 26 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱreh₁-sḱéti
increase, increasing, decrease, crescent, croissant, increment, excrement, accretion, cru, 10 more
through Latin crēscere ‘to arise, grow’
Today it means
noun Any company of people; an assemblage; a throng.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- / crew