crust

 
Pronunciation: /krʌst/

noun

  • 1the tough outer part of a loaf of bread: a sandwich with the crusts cut off [mass noun]: I tore off several pieces of crust from the loaf
  • a hard, dry scrap of bread: a kindly old woman might give her a crust
  • 2a hardened layer, coating, or deposit on the surface of something soft: a crust of snow
  • a layer of pastry covering a pie.
  • the outermost layer of rock of which a planet consists, especially the part of the earth above the mantle: the earth’s crust
  • a deposit of tartrates and other substances formed in wine aged in the bottle, especially port.
  • 3British informal a living or livelihood: I’ve been earning a crust wherever I can

verb

[no object]
  • form into a hard outer layer: the blisters eventually crust over
  • [with object] cover with a hard outer layer: the burns crusted his cheek

Derivatives

crustal

adjective ( Geology)

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French crouste, from Latin crusta 'rind, shell, crust'