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crash²

(krăsh)

1. A coarse, light, unevenly woven fabric of cotton or linen, used for towels and curtains.

2. Starched reinforced fabric used to strengthen a book binding or the spine of a bound book.

[From Russian krashenina, colored linen, from krashenie, coloring, from krasit', to color; see ker-³ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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