crusade

 
Pronunciation: /kruːˈseɪd/

noun

  • 1 (Crusade) each of a series of medieval military expeditions made by Europeans to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries: the fanaticism engendered by the Crusades in 1204 the armies of the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople
  • a war instigated for alleged religious ends: the Albigensian crusades
  • 2a vigorous campaign for political, social, or religious change: a crusade against crime

verb

[no object] (often as adjective crusading)
  • lead or take part in a vigorous campaign for social, political, or religious change: a crusading stance on poverty

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