This week’s theme
Words from religion

This week’s words
gospel
messiah
apocalypse
exodus
crusade


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Next week’s theme
Lesser-known counterparts

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(kroo-SAYD)

MEANING:

noun: A zealous effort for an idea or cause.
verb intr.: To engage in a zealous effort.

ETYMOLOGY:

A blend of Spanish cruzada + French croisade, both ultimately from Latin crux (cross). Earliest documented use: 1577.

NOTES:

The original Crusades were a number of military expeditions undertaken by European Christians against the Muslims during 11-13th centuries to win the Holy Land (modern-day Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt). Read about modern-day crusaders here.

USAGE:

“On his election to the Senate, [Charles] Sumner led a virtually one-man crusade in Congress for the repeal of this act. The law had led to the exodus of thousands of African Americans to Canada.”
Manisha Sinha; The Caning of Charles Sumner; Journal of the Early Republic (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Summer 2003.

See more usage examples of crusade in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: