Etymology
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crunchy (adj.)

1892, from crunch (n.) + -y (2). Student slang sense of "annoyingly intense about health or environmental issues" is by 1990, short for crunchy granola (considered a natural and wholesome food) used as an adjective. It could be neutral or positive at first, but later often was dismissive. Related: Crunchiness.

Entries linking to crunchy

crunch (v.)

1814, "crush with the teeth," a variant of craunch (1630s), which probably is of imitative origin. Meaning "act or proceed with a sound of crunching" is by 1849. Related: Crunched; crunching.

The noun is 1836, "an act of crunching," from the verb; the sense of "critical moment" was popularized 1939 by Winston Churchill, who had used it in his 1938 biography of Marlborough.

-y (2)
adjective suffix, "full of or characterized by," from Old English -ig, from Proto-Germanic *-iga- (source also of Dutch, Danish, German -ig, Gothic -egs), from PIE -(i)ko-, adjectival suffix, cognate with elements in Greek -ikos, Latin -icus (see -ic). Originally added to nouns in Old English; used from 13c. with verbs, and by 15c. even with other adjectives (for example crispy).
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Dictionary entries near crunchy

crumby

crummy

crumpet

crumple

crunch

crunchy

crunk

crusade

crusader

cruse

crush

© 2001-2022 Douglas Harper