When I use a word . . . . Coronership—a lexicographic puzzle

CrownsThe word “crown” comes from the Latin word corona, which means just that, via a French intermediate, corone or couronne. The Latin word comes in turn from its IndoEuropean root KER, which meant to turn or bend.Many English words beginning cr-, cer-, cir-, cor-, and kur- come from suffixed forms of the root, generally via Greek or Latin, and generally referring to objects that are in some way curved.Here are the Latin derivatives:● crinis, a lock of hair, sometimes crinkly, gives us crinoline, a stiff material made from a mixture of horsehair and cotton or linen thread;● crispus, curly, and by extension elegant, gives us crêpe, crisp, and crispate; the circumflex in crêpe indicates a missing letter s, as, for example, in bête (beast), château (castle), côte (coast), forêt (forest), hôpital (hospital), hôtel (hostel), île (isle), and pâté (paste);● crista meant a crest, and the word has come straight into…
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