crucify

[kroo-suh-fahy] /ˈkru səˌfaɪ/
verb (used with object), crucified, crucifying.
1.
to put to death by nailing or binding the hands and feet to a cross.
2.
to treat with gross injustice; persecute; torment; torture.
3.
to subdue (passion, sin, etc.).
Origin
Middle English crucifien < Anglo-French, Old French crucifier < Latin crucifīgere, equivalent to Latin cruci- (stem of crux) cross + fīgere to fix, bind fast
Related forms
crucifier, noun
uncrucified, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for crucify

crucify

/ˈkruːsɪˌfaɪ/
verb (transitive) -fies, -fying, -fied
1.
to put to death by crucifixion
2.
(slang) to defeat, ridicule, etc, totally: the critics crucified his performance
3.
to treat very cruelly; torment
4.
to subdue (passion, lust, etc); mortify
Derived Forms
crucifier, noun
Word Origin
C13: from Old French crucifier, from Late Latin crucifīgere to crucify, to fasten to a cross, from Latin crux cross + fīgere to fasten
Word Origin and History for crucify
v.

c.1300, from Old French crucifer (12c., Modern French crucifier), from Vulgar Latin *crucificare, from Late Latin crucifigere "to fasten to a cross," from cruci, dative of Latin crux "cross" (see cross (n.)) + figere "fasten" (see fix (v.)). An ancient mode of capital punishment considered especially ignominious by the Romans. Figurative sense of "to torment" is 1620s. Related: Crucified; crucifying.