Related terms

• cristallerie
• cristallin
• cristalliser
• cristallographie

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Etymology

From Medieval Spanish cristal. This in turn comes from a combination of sources, including: from crystallum 'crystal, ice', from κργσταλλοσ (krystallos) 'ice', from κργοσ (kryos) 'frost'; from the Proto-Indo-European base kru(s)-, meaning hard, hard outer surface.

Comonalities exist in all Romance and many other languages and groups, as in cristal 'clear ice/mineral'.