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crusade

Syllabification: (cru·sade)

Pronunciation: /kro͞oˈsād/

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Definition of crusade

noun

(often Crusade)

a medieval military expedition, one of a series made by Europeans to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries.
a war instigated by the Church for alleged religious ends.
an organized campaign concerning a political, social, or religious issue, typically motivated by a fervent desire for change:a crusade against crime

verb

[no object]

lead or take part in an energetic and organized campaign concerning a social, political, or religious issue:he crusaded against gambling in the 1950s

Origin:

late 16th century (originally as croisade): from French croisade, an alteration (influenced by Spanish cruzado) of earlier croisée, literally 'the state of being marked with the cross', based on Latin crux, cruc- 'cross'; in the 17th century the form crusado, from Spanish cruzado, was introduced; the blending of these two forms led to the current spelling, first recorded in the early 18th century

crusade in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of crusade in the British & World English dictionary

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