Etymology From Middle English cruste, from Anglo-Norman and Old French cruste, from Latin crusta (“hard outer covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *krustós (“hardened”), from *krews- (“to form a crust, begin to freeze”), related to Old Norse hroðr (“scurf”), Old English hruse (“earth”), Old High German hrosa (“crust, ice”), Latvian kruvesis (“frozen mud”), Ancient Greek κρύος (krúos, “frost, icy cold”), κρύσταλλος (krústallos, “crystal, ice”), Avestan 𐬑𐬭𐬎𐬰𐬛𐬭𐬀- (xruzdra-, “hard”), Sanskrit क्रूड् (krūḍ, “thicken, make hard”). Doublet of crusta.
A more solid, dense or hard layer on a surface or boundary.
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The external, hardened layer of certain foodstuffs, including most types of bread, fried meat, etc.
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An outer layer composed of pastry
Th' impenetrable crust thy teeth defies.1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Fifth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC:
They […] made the crust for the venison pasty.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter III, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
Geography, Geology, Natural sciences The outermost layer of the lithosphere of the Earth.
Holonyms: lithosphere < Earth
The crust (a mere 1% of the Earth's volume) is made of lighter melt products from the mantle.2012, Chinle Miller, In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition:
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Astronomy, Natural sciencesBroadly The outermost layer of the lithosphere of any terrestrial planet.
Like most of us, I am frequently asked by friends and people I meet in business situations or round the dinner table what I do to earn my crust.1999, Norman Longworth, Making Lifelong Learning Work: Learning Cities for a Learning Century, Psychology Press, →ISBN, page 1:
You've got a lot of crust standing there saying that.
“Oh?” she said. “So you have decided to revise my guest list for me? You have the nerve, the – the –” I saw she needed helping out. “Audacity,” I said, throwing her the line. “The audacity to dictate to me who I shall have in my house.” It should have been “whom”, but I let it go. “You have the –” “Crust.” “– the immortal rind,” she amended, and I had to admit it was stronger, “to tell me whom” – she got it right that time – “I may entertain at Brinkley Court and who” – wrong again – “I may not.”1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XVIII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
“Well, all I can say is that if yer don't take yer dial outer the road I'll bloomin' well take an' bounce a gibber off yer crust.”1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, page 90:
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Entertainment, Lifestyle, MusicAbbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of crust punk, a subgenre of punk music.
Etymology From Middle English cruste, from Anglo-Norman and Old French cruste, from Latin crusta (“hard outer covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *krustós (“hardened”), from *krews- (“to form a crust, begin to freeze”), related to Old Norse hroðr (“scurf”), Old English hruse (“earth”), Old High German hrosa (“crust, ice”), Latvian kruvesis (“frozen mud”), Ancient Greek κρύος (krúos, “frost, icy cold”), κρύσταλλος (krústallos, “crystal, ice”), Avestan 𐬑𐬭𐬎𐬰𐬛𐬭𐬀- (xruzdra-, “hard”), Sanskrit क्रूड् (krūḍ, “thicken, make hard”). Doublet of crusta.
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To cover with a crust.
The whole body is crusted over with ice.1662, Robert Boyle, An Account of Freezing:
Their minds are crusted over, like diamonds in the rock.1711, Henry Felton, Dissertation on Reading the Classics:
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To form a crust.
, The Goblin Reign Boxed Set Thistle held her hand over the wound and pressed a wad of tree moss against it. "Don't move," she said. "Let it crust."