different between craft vs cruft

English

Etymology

From Middle English craft, from Old English cræft, from Proto-West Germanic *kraftu, from Proto-Germanic *kraftuz, further origin obscure.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /k???ft/

  Rhymes: -??ft

• (US) IPA^(key): /k?æft/

Noun

craft (countable and uncountable, plural craft or crafts)

1. (uncountable, obsolete) Strength; power; might; force [9th century].
2. (uncountable) Intellectual power; skill; art.
   1. Ability, skilfulness, especially skill in making plans and carrying them into execution; dexterity in managing affairs, adroitness, practical cunning; ingenuity in constructing, dexterity [9th century].
   2. Cunning, art, skill, or dexterity applied to bad purposes; artifice; guile; subtlety; shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception [13th century].

      Synonyms: craftiness, cunning, foxiness, guile, slyness, wiliness

   3. (obsolete) Occult art, magic [13th century].
3. (countable, obsolete in the general sense) A work or product of art [c. 1000].
   1. (collective or plural) Handmade items, especially domestic or decorative objects; handicrafts [20th century].
4. (countable, obsolete) A device, a means; a magical device, spell or enchantment [13th century].
5. (countable, obsolete) Learning of the schools, scholarship; a branch of learning or knowledge, a science, especially one of the ‘seven liberal arts’ of the medieval universities [13th century].
6. (uncountable) Skill, skilfulness, art, especially the skill needed for a particular profession [9th century].

   Synonyms: craftsmanship, workmanship

7. (countable, plural crafts) A branch of skilled work or trade, especially one requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill, but sometimes applied equally to any business, calling or profession; the skilled practice of a practical occupation [since the 9th century].

   Synonyms: art, trade, handicraft, business, profession

8. (countable) A trade or profession as embodied in its practitioners collectively; the members of a trade or handicraft as a body; an association of these; a trade's union, guild, or ‘company’ [15th century].

9. (countable, plural craft) A vehicle designed for navigation in or on water or air or through outer space [since the 17th century].
   1. (nautical) Boats, especially of smaller size than ships. Historically primarily applied to vessels engaged in loading or unloading of other vessels, as lighters, hoys, and barges.
   2. (nautical, British Royal Navy) Those vessels attendant on a fleet, such as cutters, schooners, and gun-boats, generally commanded by lieutenants.
   3. (figuratively) A woman.

      • “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action.

10. (countable, fishing) Implements used in catching fish, such as net, line, or hook. Modern use primarily in whaling, as in harpoons, hand-lances, etc. [17th century].

Usage notes

The plural craft is used to refer to vehicles. All other senses use the plural crafts.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

craft (third-person singular simple present crafts, present participle crafting, simple past and past participle crafted)

1. To make by hand and with much skill.
2. To construct, develop something (like a skilled craftsman).

   state crafting; the process of crafting global policing

3. (video games) To combine multiple items to form a new item, such as armour or medicine.

Derived terms

• crafter
• uncrafted

Translations

References

• Krueger, Dennis (December 1982). "Why On Earth Do They Call It Throwing?" Studio Potter Vol. 11, Number 1 (journal website).

Anagrams

• fract

Old Dutch

Alternative forms

• kraft, creft

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kraft-.

Noun

craft f

1. strength, power, force

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: cracht, craft
  • Dutch: kracht
    • Afrikaans: krag
  • Limburgish: krach

Further reading

• “kraht”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

English

Etymology

Circa 1959, MIT Tech Model Railroad Club. Unknown origin; possibly from Cruft Hall, built in 1915 as a gift from a donor named Harriet Otis Cruft. Cruft Hall was the radar laboratory of Harvard's physics department during the Second World War, which contained much old and unused technical equipment. Possibly blend of crust +? fluff, both of which may form on old abandoned things, or influenced by crud.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??ft/
• Rhymes: -?ft
• Hyphenation: cruft

Noun

cruft (uncountable)

1. (computing, slang) Anything old or of inferior quality.
   • 2020: The Washington Post

     The document just goes on at length in the same way, picking out the sort of cruft that’s been littering Trump’s Twitter feed since Nov. 3 and tying it all into one stinky package. It’s sincerely not worth running through the entire litany again; simply consider The Post’s Fact Checker articles as an effective rejoinder.

2. (computing, slang) Redundant, old or improperly written code, especially that which accumulates over time; clutter.
3. (film, slang) Meaningless and/or gratuitous content displayed on computer consoles in visual entertainment productions.

Derived terms

• crufting
• crufty
• cruftware
• fancruft

Translations

Verb

cruft (third-person singular simple present crufts, present participle crufting, simple past and past participle crufted)

1. (computing, slang) To generate cruft. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

References