A Dictionary of Cont..

cowardly
sires would naturally be kept secret, but this
meaning may be strengthened by its similarity
in sound to covert. But simple desire it is not.
We would not think of using it today as it is used
in a quotation, dated 1634, in the Oxford English
Dictionary: Boys go up and down with flugons
of wine, and fill to fhose that covet it. See also
envy.
cowardly; timid. An act is cowardly when it is
lacking in normal courage and basely timid (It
was a cowardly thing to leave his post just becauSe
he smelled smoke). An act is timid when
it shows a lack of boldness or self-confidence.
The timid are frightened when there is no real
danger (The child was too timid to ask anyone
which bus she should take). Because men who
are cowards when they are in danger are often
bullies when they feel secure, and because much
has been made of this in popular psychology,
many acts are described as cowardly which
should be described as arrogant, over’bearing,
insolent, brutal, tyrannical, or the like. Thus to
say It was a cowardly thing for that big man to
hit that defenseless boy may show a knowledge
of the human heart but it shows an ignorance of
the English language.
coy. See modest.
cracker. See biscuit.
craft. When this word means a boat, the standard
plural is craft, but a regular plural (crafts is
sometimes heard in this sense.
When the word means a skill or trade, the
plural is always crtrfts. In this sense, both craft
and crafts are used as the first element in a compound,
as in craftroom and craftsroom. Only
the form with s is used in craftsman.
crave. This word may be followed by an infinitive,
as in Z crave to hear his voice. It may also be
followed by a clause with the clause verb a subjunctive
or a subjunctive equivalent, as in Z cruve
that he come. The infinitive construction is
preferred.
crawfish: crayfish. Any of numerous fresh-water
decapod crustaceans of the suborder Mncruca
are called crayfish by zoologists and the British,
but in common American usage they are called
cruwfish. Both, by the way, are folk-etymological
corruptions of the old French crevice. The crawmay
have been affected by crawl.
The verb to crawfish, to crawl or back out of
an undertaking, is slang, not standard.
crawl. See creep.
credence; credit. Credence means belief. To give
credence is to believe. (I could not place much
credence in his narrative). Credit also means
believe (I could not credit his narrative). The
credit which one has at a store is the amount
which the store believes one will pay. But from
both of these meanings credit branches off into
other meanings. Credit means financial status,
the amount of money at one’s disposal in the
bank, acknowledgement of merit (Much credit
accrued to him because of his speech before the
joint session), and source of honor (Dr. Bunche
is a credit not only to the Negro race but to the
human race). Thus in the meaning of belief
credence has the advantage (because it means
only one thing) of being free from any possible
ambiguity.
credible; creditable; credulous. Credible means
believable, worthv of belief or confidence (His
story was credible. Z have it on the authority of
a credible witness). Creditable means bringing
of honor or esteem (Nis refusal to accept the
bribe was a creditable action).
The negative of credible is incredible. The
negative of creditable is discreditable.
Credulous once meant merely inclined to believe.
Bishop Hall said (1605) that a credulous
and plain heart is more acceptable to God than
a curious [i.e., inquiring] head. But in general
usage today credulous means over-inclined to
believe, gullible. Buckle refers to an ignorant
and therefore a credulous age.
credit; accredit. To credit is to believe (I credit
your *story implicitly). To accredit is to invest
with authority (He was accredited ambassador
to Italy) or to certify as meeting certain official
requirements (The board failed to accredit Podunk
Normal College). Accredit also means to
ascribe or attribute (The invention of the submarine
was accredited to Fulton. He was accredited
with the witticism, whether he actually said
it or not).
Of course where something creditable is ascribed
or attributed to someone, where, that is,
it may be thought of as being put to the person’s
credit (The invention of the submarine is credited
to Fulton) credit may be used for accredit.
But accredit may be used for the ascription or
attribution of discreditable things; whereas
credit may not.
creek. In the United States (as also in Canada and
Australia) a creek is a small stream, as a branch
of a river. In English usage it is a narrow recess
in the shore of the sea, an inlet or bay. This is
the meaning that Chaucer had in mind when he
said that his Shipman knew every cryke in
Britaigne and in Spayne.
Although it would be understood if encountered
in reading and although it is incorporated
into thousands of place names (meant in the
more recent ones to lend an upper-class or
romantic air), brook is very rarely used in
America in ordinary speech.
creep. The past tense is crept. The participle is also
crept. A form creeped is heard but is not
standard.
creep and crawl, as terms for moving along the
ground, are frequently interchangeable, but
crawl suggests a more prostrate motion and it
aIone has the suggestion of abasement (He’ll
come crawling to ask my forgiveness). Creep
often has a sinister connotation (At night when
you’re asleep/ Into your tent 1’11 creep. Day by
day the Indian tiger/ Louder yelled and nearer
crept), while crawl suggests the movement of
loathsome rather than of dangerous things (Yea,
slimy things did crawl with legs/ Upon a slimy
sea).
crematorium. The plural is crematoriums or crematoria.
creole means various things in various places and
various punctuations. In the West Indies and