crystal

Where does the word "crystal" come from? It comes from Greek krystallos, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Crystal’s story begins in Greek: krystallos meant “ice.” Literally ice, since clear quartz was once believed to be permanently frozen ice. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as cristal. Carried into French for clear quartz and fine glass. It reached English by 1300s as crystal. Settled as the English word for a clear, ordered solid structure. Today, crystal means a solid with a regular, repeating atomic structure, or a clear fine glass.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient krystallos "ice", literally ice, since clear quartz was once believed to be permanently frozen ice.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval cristal "clear quartz, fine glass", carried into French for clear quartz and fine glass.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s crystal "a clear mineral, or an ordered solid structure", settled as the English word for a clear, ordered solid structure.