Unseen, yet crescive in his faculty.
Shak.
Cre"sol (krē"sōl), n. [From Creosote.] (Chem.) Any one of three metameric substances, CH3.C6H4.OH, homologous with and resembling phenol. They are obtained from coal tar and wood tar, and are colorless, oily liquids or solids. [Called also cresylic acid.]
Cre*sor"cin (kr?-s?r"s?n), n. (Chem.) Same as Isorcin.
Cress (kr&ebreve;s), n.; pl. Cresses (kr&ebreve;s"&ebreve;z). [OE. ces, cresse, kers, kerse, AS. cresse, cerse; akin to D. kers, G. kresse, Dan. karse, Sw. krasse, and possibly also to OHG. chresan to creep.] (Bot.) A plant of various species, chiefly cruciferous. The leaves have a moderately pungent taste, and are used as a salad and antiscorbutic.
&fist; The garden cress, called also peppergrass, is the Lepidium sativum; the water cress is the Nasturtium officinale. Various other plants are sometimes called cresses.
To strip the brook with mantling cresses spread.
Goldsmith.
Bitter cress. See under Bitter. -- Not worth a cress, or "not worth a kers." a common old proverb, now turned into the meaningless "not worth a curse." Skeat.
Cres*selle" (kr?s-s?l"), n. [F. crÚcelle rattle.] (Eccl.) A wooden rattle sometimes used as a substitute for a bell, in the Roman Catholic church, during the latter part of Holy Week, or the last week of Lent.
Cres"set (kr?s"s?t), n. [OF. crasset, cresset, sort of lamp or torch; perh. of Dutch or German origin, and akin to E. cruse, F. creuset crucible, E. crucible.] 1. An open frame or basket of iron, filled with combustible material, to be burned as a beacon; an open lamp or firrepan carried on a pole in nocturnal processions.
Starry lamps and blazing cressets, fed
With naphtha and asphaltus.
Milton.
As a cresset true that darts its length
Of beamy luster from a tower of strength.
Wordsworth.
2. (Coopering) A small furnace or iron cage to hold fire for charring the inside of a cask, and making the staves flexible. Knight.
Cress"y (kr&ebreve;s"&ybreve;), a. Abounding in cresses.
The cressy islets white in flower.
Tennyson.
Crest (kr&ebreve;st), n. [OF. creste, F. crŕte, L. crista.] 1. A tuft, or other excrescence or natural ornament, growing on an animal's head; the comb of a cock; the swelling on the head of a serpent; the lengthened feathers of the crown or nape of bird, etc. Darwin.
[Attack] his rising crest, and drive the serpent back.
C. Pitt.
2. The plume of feathers, or other decoration, worn on a helmet; the distinctive ornament of a helmet, indicating the rank of the wearer; hence, also, the helmet.
Stooping low his lofty crest.
Sir W. Scott.
And on his head there stood upright
A crest, in token of a knight.
Gower.
3. (Her.) A bearing worn, not upon the shield, but usually above it, or separately as an ornament for plate, liveries, and the like. It is a relic of the ancient cognizance. See Cognizance, 4.