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cruet

UK/ˈkɹu.ɪt/US/ˈkɹu.ɪt/
nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,992 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: cruets

A cruet is the small stand holding salt and pepper. Pass the cruet, a silver cruet, the cruet set.

It is a rather dated word and survives in older restaurants and in antique dealing, where a cruet set may hold oil and vinegar as well. In church it names the small vessels for wine and water.

Pearson Scott Foresman · Public domain

Definitions of cruet

  1. 1nouncruetThe small stand holding salt and pepper.C2

    “Could you pass me the cruet? This soup needs a little salt.”

cruet is a stand.

Where it comes from

Anglo-Norman cruet is a diminutive of a word for an earthen pot.

  1. Old Saxon

    krūka

  2. Old French

    crue — an earthen pot

  3. Anglo-Norman

    cruet

  4. English, today

    cruet

From Middle English -, from Anglo-Norman cruet, diminutive of Old French crue (“an earthen pot”), from Old Saxon krūka.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Restaurant & Cafe

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cruet in the wild

  • A cruet (), also called a caster, is a small flat-bottomed vessel with a narrow neck.

    Cruet

  • Unlike a small carafe, a cruet may have a stopper or lid.

    Cruet

  • Salt and pepper shakers are sometimes held in a cruet-stand.

    Salt and pepper shakers

  • A cruet-stand (or cruet in British English) is a small stand of metal, ceramic, or glass which holds containers for condiments.

    Cruet-stand

  • Typically these include salt and pepper shakers, and often cruets or bottles of vinegar and olive oil.

    Cruet-stand

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.