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crusade

Pronunciation: /kruːˈseɪd/

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Definition of crusade

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

crusade in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of crusade in the US English dictionary

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