Other forms: crises
A crisis is a moment when something must give way. A financial crisis, in crisis, crisis point.
It is a turning point rather than merely a bad period, which is the sense the word properly carries — in medicine a crisis was the moment a fever broke either way. In use it has weakened to mean any serious difficulty. Note the plural crises; and that the Greek means a decision, from krinein, to judge, so a crisis is the moment of decision.
1nouncrisisA moment when something must give way.
“The country faced an economic crisis when the banks collapsed.”
crisis is a turning point.
Greek krisis means a decision or judgement, from krinein, to separate or decide. Critic, criterion and discriminate come from the same judging.
Proto-Indo-European
*krey-
Ancient Greek
κρίσις — a separating, power of distinguishing, decision, choice, election, judgment, dispute
Latin
crisis
English, today
crisis
Built from
From Latin crisis, from Ancient Greek κρίσις (“a separating, power of distinguishing, decision, choice, election, judgment, dispute”), from κρίνω (“pick out, choose, decide, judge”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA