Definitions

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

  • noun An ornamental circlet or head covering, often made of precious metal set with jewels and worn as a symbol of sovereignty.
  • noun The power, position, or empire of a monarch or of a state governed by constitutional monarchy.
  • noun The monarch as head of state.
  • noun A distinction or reward for achievement, especially a title signifying championship in a sport.
  • noun Something resembling a diadem in shape.
  • noun A coin stamped with a crown or crowned head on one side.
  • noun A silver coin formerly used in Great Britain and worth five shillings.
  • noun Any one of several coins, such as the koruna, the krona, or the krone, having a name that means “crown.”
  • noun The top or highest part of the head.
  • noun The head itself.
  • noun The top or upper part of a hat.
  • noun The highest point or summit.
  • noun The highest, primary, or most valuable part, attribute, or state.
  • noun The part of a tooth that is covered by enamel and projects beyond the gum line.
  • noun An artificial substitute for the natural crown of a tooth.
  • noun Nautical The lowest part of an anchor, where the arms are joined to the shank.
  • noun Architecture The highest portion of an arch, including the keystone.
  • noun The upper part of a tree, which includes the branches and leaves.
  • noun The part of a plant, usually at ground level, where the stem and roots merge.
  • noun The persistent, mostly underground base of a perennial herb.
  • noun The crest of an animal, especially of a bird.
  • noun The portion of a cut gem above the girdle.
  • intransitive verb To put a crown or garland on the head of.
  • intransitive verb To invest with regal power; enthrone.
  • intransitive verb To confer honor, dignity, or reward upon.
  • intransitive verb To surmount or be the highest part of.
  • intransitive verb To form the crown, top, or chief ornament of.
  • intransitive verb To bring to completion or successful conclusion; consummate.
  • intransitive verb Dentistry To put a crown on (a tooth).
  • intransitive verb Games To make (a piece in checkers that has reached the last row) into a king by placing another piece upon it.
  • intransitive verb Informal To hit on the head.
  • intransitive verb To reach a stage in labor when a large segment of the fetal scalp is visible at the vaginal orifice. Used of a fetus.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To give a crown or bulge to: as, to crown the surface of a ship's deck.
  • To cut off (the crown), as of a sugar-beet.
  • To bestow a crown or garland upon; place a garland upon the head of.
  • To invest with or as if with a regal crown; hence, to invest with regal dignity and power.
  • To cover as if with a crown.
  • To confer honor, reward, or dignity upon; recompense; dignify; distinguish; adorn.
  • To form the topmost or finishing part of; terminate; complete; fill up, as a bowl with wine; consummate; perfect.
  • Milit., to effect a lodgment and establish works upon, as the crest of the glacis or the summit of a breach.
  • In the game of checkers, to make a king of, or mark as a king: said of placing another piece upon the top of one that has been moved into an opponent's king-row. See checker, 3.
  • To mark with the tonsure, as a sign of admission to the priesthood.
  • Nautical, to form into a sort of knot, as a rope, by passing the strands over and under one another.

Etymologies

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

[Middle English crowne, from Anglo-Norman coroune, from Latin corōna, wreath, garland, crown, from Greek korōnē, anything curved, kind of crown, from korōnos, curved; see sker- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin corona ("wreath")

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Examples

  • So shall crown Thee the topmost, ineffablest, uttermost crown—

    From ‘Saul’ 1917

  • II, with a crown, and so arranged it that the powerful electrical force might be stored in the _crown_.

    True to His Home A Tale of the Boyhood of Franklin Hezekiah Butterworth 1872

  • Here a porcelain crown is an the average a $100, a three teeth bridge $300, a root canal (a 3 hours one, by a root canal specialist) $250, teeth cleaning around $25, bleaching $250, cosmetic tooth veneers $250 each with further discounts if you need several.

    Dentist in Ajijic 2004

  • During services the hat adds an aura to the woman, a certain regal attitude that expresses that this person may of nobility hence the term "crown."

    Kansas City Star: News 2011

  • The event will feature male cast members representing their respective Broadway shows, competing for the title crown through talent, interview and swimsuit competitions.

    TheaterMania.com 2010

  • The pretender to the title crown has spent a frantic week constructing new contracts for his players but Sir Alex Ferguson yesterday demonstrated the benefits of a taking a loftier position than Rafael Benitez, emerging emboldened and invigorated from a week in southern France, and armed with a rationalisation of why it all fell apart in the previous two weeks of Premier League competition.

    www.hardwarezone.com.sg 2009

  • The Japanese auto maker has been fighting to restrict access to the software, saying it needs to protect what it calls the "crown jewel" of its global enterprise.

    Toyota Fights to Limit Access to 'Crown Jewels' Dionne Searcey 2011

  • Leo: Among the many diamonds in your crown is the way people look up to you for academic guidance and leadership.

    Horoscope for the week of March 23, 2008 2008

  • Inside the crown is a good-sized pocket sealed with Velcro.

    Questions about clothes, weather and hope 2005

  • Talk a little bit about the difficulties of what to release publicly so as not to compromise what they call the crown jewels of intelligence gathering, the sources and methods.

    CNN Transcript Feb 5, 2003 2003

Comments

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  • a type of octavo (in the rare/antique book trade)

    February 20, 2007

  • The British monarchy.

    January 10, 2008

  • "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown."

    March 27, 2008

  • Aww. Poor tired head.

    March 27, 2008

  • Fire jargon:

    crown fire (crowning)—The movement of fire through the crowns of trees or shrubs more or less independently of the surface fire.

    - source,

    January 11, 2013