Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CREEP'ER, n.

1. One who creeps; that which creeps; a reptile; also, a creeping plant, which moves along the surface of the earth or attaches itself to some other body, as ivy.
2. An iron used to slide along the grate in kitchens. Johnson.
3. A kind of patten or clog worn by women. – Johnson.
4. Creeper or Creepers, an instrument of iron with hooks or claws, for drawing up things from the bottom of a well, river or harbor.
5. A genus of birds, the Certhia, or ox-eye, of many species. These birds run along the body or branch of a tree, and when they observe a person near, they run to the side opposite, so as to keep out of sight. – Encyc.

CREEP'HOLE, n.

A hole into which an animal may creep to escape notice or danger; also, a subterfuge; an excuse. – Johnson.

CREEP'ING, n.

Act of creeping. – Dwight.

CREEP'ING, ppr.

Moving on the belly, or close to the surface of the earth or other body; moving slowly, secretly, or silently; moving insensibly; stealing along.

CREEP'ING-LY, adv.

By creeping; slowly; in the manner of a reptile. – Sidney.

CREEP'LE, [Not used.]

See Cripple.

CREESE, n.

A Malay dagger.

CRE-MA'TION, n. [L. crematio, from cremo, to burn.]

A burning; particularly, the burning of the dead, according to the custom of many ancient nations. – Encyc.

CRE-MO'NA, a.

A name erroneously given to a stop in the organ. [See Cromorna.] – Brande.

CRE-MO'NA, n.

A superior kind of violin, made or invented at Cremona, in Italy.

CRE'MOR, n. [L. See Cream.]

Cream; any expressed juice of grain; yeast; scum; a substance resembling cream. – Coxe.

CRE'NATE, or CRE'NA-TED, a. [L. crena, a notch, whence crenatus, notched. See Cranny.]

Notched; indented; scolloped. In botany, a crenate leaf has its edge, as it were, cut with circular incisures, not inclining toward either extremity. When the scallops are segments of small circles, it is said to be obtusely crenated; when the larger segments have smaller ones upon them, a leaf is said to be doubly crenate. – Martyn.

CREN'A-TURE, n.

A scallop, like a notch, in a leaf, or in the style of a plant. – Bigelow.

CREN'KLE, or CREN'GLE, n.

See CRINGLE.

CREN'U-LATE, a. [dim. used by Linnæus.]

Having the edge, as it were, cut into very small scallops. – Martyn.

CRE'OLE, n.

In the West Indies and Spanish America, a native of those countries descended from European ancestors.

CREP'ANCE, or CREP'ANE, n. [L. crepo, to burst.]

A chop or cratch in a horse's leg, caused by the shoe of one hind foot crossing and striking the other hind foot. It sometimes degenerates into an ulcer. – Encyc.

CREP'I-TATE, v.i. [L. crepito, to crackle, from crepo, to crack, to burst with a sharp sound; It. crepitate, crepare; Fr. crever; Sax. hreopan; Goth. hropyan; D. roepen; allied to Eng. rip, and probably from the root of rumpo, rupi, &c. See חרפ and خَرَفَ garafa. Class Rb, No. 27, and No. 18, 26, 30.]

To crackle; to snap; to burst with a small sharp abrupt sound, rapidly repeated; as salt in fire, or during calcination. It differs from detonate, which signifies, to burst with a single loud report.

CREP'I-TA-TING, ppr.

Crackling; snapping.

CREP-I-TA'TION, n.

1. The act of bursting with a frequent repetition of sharp sounds; the noise of some salts on calcination; crackling. – Coxe. Encyc.
2. The noise of fractured bones, when moved by a surgeon to ascertain a fracture. – Encyc.

CREPT, v. [pret. and pp. of Creep.]

CRE-PUS'CLE, or CRE-PUSC'ULE, n. [L. crepusculum, from crepo or its root, a little burst or break of light, or broken light. Creperus is from the same root.]

Twilight; the light of the morning from the first dawn to sunrise, and of the evening from sunset to darkness. It is occasioned by the refraction of the sun's rays.

CRE-PUSC'U-LAR, or CRE-PUSC'U-LOUS, a.

Pertaining to twilight; glimmering; noting the imperfect light of the morning and evening; hence, imperfectly clear or luminous. – Brown. Glanville.

CRE-PUSC'U-LINE, a.

Crepuscular. [Not used.]

CRES-CEN'DO,

In music, denotes with an increasing volume of voice.