crude

Etymology

From Middle English crude, borrowed from Latin crūdus (“raw, bloody, uncooked, undigested, crude”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂- (“raw meat, fresh blood”). Cognate with Old English hrēaw (“raw, uncooked”). More at raw.

adj

1. In a natural, untreated state.
   crude oil
2. Characterized by simplicity, especially something not carefully or expertly made.
   a crude shelter
   a crude estimate
   a crude guess
3. Lacking concealing elements.
   a crude truth
4. Lacking tact or taste.
   a crude remark
   You shouldn't use such crude language when talking to the bank manager.
5. (archaic) Immature or unripe.
6. (obsolete) Uncooked, raw.
7. (grammar) Pertaining to the uninflected stem of a word.

noun

1. Any substance in its natural state.
2. Crude oil.
   The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices). 2013-08-03, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847