Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small bottle for holding a condiment, such as vinegar or oil.
  • noun Ecclesiastical A small vessel for holy water or for water or wine used in the consecration of the Eucharist.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A vial or small glass bottle, especially one for holding vinegar, oil, etc.; a caster for liquids.
  • noun Specifically Eccles., one of the two vessels holding respectively the wine and the water for the eucharist and for the ablutions of the mass.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A bottle or vessel; esp., a vial or small glass bottle for holding vinegar, oil, pepper, or the like, for the table; a caster.
  • noun (Eccl.) A vessel used to hold wine, oil, or water for the service of the altar.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A small bottle or container used to hold a condiment, such as salt, pepper, oil, or vinegar, for use at a dining table.
  • noun UK A stand for these containers.
  • noun A small vessel used to hold wine or water for the Eucharist.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun bottle that holds wine or oil or vinegar for the table

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, diminutive of crue, flask, of Germanic origin.]

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Examples

  • If he comes home late after a busy day, and has a quiet little supper alone he doesn’t want you to jump up and down like a Jack-in-a-box with “would you like more pepper darling?” and present him with the cruet from the opposite end of the table when he already has one in front of him.

    G is for Gender « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • A kind of cruet is recorded among early French table silver, "a double necked bottle in divisions, in which to place two kinds of liquor without mixing them."

    Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in the Early Renaissance Julia de Wolf Gibbs Addison

  • Worse still, when he took Neil Hawke's wicket to bring up his triple century of dismissals at The Oval he received congratulatory telegrams from all counties save his own and on his retirement four years later Yorkshire asked him to contribute £120 to the silver cruet costing £220 they had ordered for him as a leaving gift.

    Fred Trueman: the good, the bad and the grouchy | Rob Bagchi 2011

  • Any restaurant can invest in new cruet sets, a serious steak grill – the must-have accessory in London's high-end kitchens these days – or enough crisp linen to wrap the Reichstag.

    Restaurant review: 34 2012

  • Georgi took away the empty bowls, replaced them with plates of what looked to Helen like homemade ravioli, and set a plastic tray in the middle of the table: butter, pepper, a cruet of vinegar.

    Venom Joan Brady 2010

  • I need to replace two broken elephants from my noahs ark cruet set purchased from Franklin Mint nearly 10 years ago.

    Franklin Mint | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2008

  • I am against disgustingly sweet girly shots and twenty-proof schnaps that tastes as though it came from the syrup cruet at IHOP.

    Archive 2009-09-13 Sean Craven 2009

  • Mix in a cruet and shake until frothy but not whipped.

    RECIPES FROM GINNY BATES Maggie Jochild 2007

  • I am against disgustingly sweet girly shots and twenty-proof schnaps that tastes as though it came from the syrup cruet at IHOP.

    For And Against Sean Craven 2009

  • E10 So, Lord Etherington was at liberty to carry on his reflections, without attracting observation. — “I have put a stopper into the mouth of that old vinegar-cruet of quality, but the acidity of her temper will soon dissolve the charm — And what to do?”

    Saint Ronan's Well 2008

Comments

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  • At Noma the chefs must intuit
    What goes best with lichen and suet,
    And find the best sauce
    To moisten your moss
    And fluidly ooze from your cruet.

    September 20, 2014