Etymology From Middle English creste, from Old French creste (modern French crête) and perhaps continuing Old English cræsta (“crest, tuft, plume”); both ultimately from Vulgar Latin *cresta, from Latin crista. Doublet of crista. The informal meaning “design, logo” (noun sense 11) stems from a misinterpretation of the heraldic noun sense 4, which specifically refers to the object placed on top of the helm.
A tuft, or other natural ornament, growing on an animal's head, for example the comb of a cockerel, the swelling on the head of a snake, the lengthened feathers of the crown or nape of bird, etc.
3
The plume of feathers, or other decoration, worn on or displayed on a helmet; the distinctive ornament of a helmet.
4
Government, Heraldry, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Monarchy, Nobility, Politics A bearing worn, not upon the shield, but usually on a helmet above it, sometimes (as for clerics) separately above the shield or separately as a mark for plate, in letterheads, and the like.
I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me. I look upon notoriety with the same indifference as on the buttons on a man's shirt-front, or the crest on his note-paper.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
5
The upper curve of a horse's neck.
6
The ridge or top of a wave.
Then, too, the same flutter is observed when it glides over the crest of a wave, but this probably only occurs when the wind lies in a certain direction from the axis of flight.1926, Ernest Bade, Science and Invention, volume 17, Experimenter Publishing Company, page 462:
7
The helm or head, as typical of a high spirit; pride; courage.
8
The ornamental finishing which surmounts the ridge of a roof, canopy, etc.
9
The top line of a slope or embankment.
10
Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences A ridge along the surface of a bone.
11
Informal A design or logo, especially one of an institution, sports club, association or high-class family.
Hungry for fame and the approval of rare-animal collector Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton), Darwin deceives the Captain and his crew into believing they can get enough booty to win the pirate competition by entering Polly in a science fair. So the pirates journey to London in cheerful, blinkered defiance of the Queen, a hotheaded schemer whose royal crest reads simply “I hate pirates.”2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits :”, in The Onion AV Club:
12
Any of several birds in the family Regulidae, including the goldcrests and firecrests.
Etymology From Middle English creste, from Old French creste (modern French crête) and perhaps continuing Old English cræsta (“crest, tuft, plume”); both ultimately from Vulgar Latin *cresta, from Latin crista. Doublet of crista. The informal meaning “design, logo” (noun sense 11) stems from a misinterpretation of the heraldic noun sense 4, which specifically refers to the object placed on top of the helm.
1
Particularly with reference to waves, to reach a peak.
2
To reach the crest of (e.g. a hill or mountain).
the land rolls gently, so that, upon cresting a low rise or passing a copse of wind turbines, you suddenly spot a lot full of lorries or a complex of gigantic sheds.2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian:
3
To furnish with, or surmount as, a crest; to serve as a crest for.
His legs bestrid the ocean, his reared arm / Crested the world.c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
groves of clouds that crest the mountain's brow1815, William Wordsworth, Extracts from An Evening Walk:
4
To mark with lines or streaks like waving plumes.
Like as the shining skie in summers night, / What time the dayes with scorching heat abound, / Is creasted all with lines of firie light1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 13: