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Crown jewels   /kraʊn dʒˈuəlz/   Listen
noun
Crown  n.  
1.
A wreath or garland, or any ornamental fillet encircling the head, especially as a reward of victory or mark of honorable distinction; hence, anything given on account of, or obtained by, faithful or successful effort; a reward. "An olive branch and laurel crown." "They do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
2.
A royal headdress or cap of sovereignty, worn by emperors, kings, princes, etc. Note: Nobles wear coronets; the triple crown of the pope is usually called a tiara. The crown of England is a circle of gold with crosses, fleurs-de-lis, and imperial arches, inclosing a crimson velvet cap, and ornamented with thousands of diamonds and precious stones.
3.
The person entitled to wear a regal or imperial crown; the sovereign; with the definite article. "Parliament may be dissolved by the demise of the crown." "Large arrears of pay were due to the civil and military servants of the crown."
4.
Imperial or regal power or dominion; sovereignty. "There is a power behind the crown greater than the crown itself."
5.
Anything which imparts beauty, splendor, honor, dignity, or finish. "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband."
6.
Highest state; acme; consummation; perfection. "Mutual love, the crown of all our bliss."
7.
The topmost part of anything; the summit. "The steepy crown of the bare mountains."
8.
The topmost part of the head; that part of the head from which the hair descends toward the sides and back; also, the head or brain. "From toe to crown he'll fill our skin with pinches." "Twenty things which I set down: This done, I twenty more-had in my crown."
9.
The part of a hat above the brim.
10.
(Anat.) The part of a tooth which projects above the gum; also, the top or grinding surface of a tooth.
11.
(Arch.) The vertex or top of an arch; applied generally to about one third of the curve, but in a pointed arch to the apex only.
12.
(Bot.) Same as Corona.
13.
(Naut.)
(a)
That part of an anchor where the arms are joined to the shank.
(b)
The rounding, or rounded part, of the deck from a level line.
(c)
pl. The bights formed by the several turns of a cable.
14.
The upper range of facets in a rose diamond.
15.
The dome of a furnace.
16.
(Geom.) The area inclosed between two concentric perimeters.
17.
(Eccl.) A round spot shaved clean on the top of the head, as a mark of the clerical state; the tonsure.
18.
A size of writing paper. See under Paper.
19.
A coin stamped with the image of a crown; hence,a denomination of money; as, the English crown, a silver coin of the value of five shillings sterling, or a little more than $1.20; the Danish or Norwegian crown, a money of account, etc., worth nearly twenty-seven cents.
20.
An ornaments or decoration representing a crown; as, the paper is stamped with a crown.
Crown of aberration (Astron.), a spurious circle around the true circle of the sun.
Crown antler (Zool.), the topmost branch or tine of an antler; also, an antler having a cuplike top, with tines springing from the rim.
Crown bar, one of the bars which support the crown sheet of steam-boiler furnace.
Crown glass. See under Glass.
Crown imperial. (Bot.) See in the Vocabulary.
Crown jewels, the jewels appertaining to the sovereign while wearing the crown. (Eng.) "She pawned and set to sale the crown jewels."
Crown land, land belonging to the crown, that is, to the sovereign.
Crown law, the law which governs criminal prosecutions. (Eng.)
Crown lawyer, one employed by the crown, as in criminal cases. (Eng.)
Crown octavo. See under Paper.
Crown office. See in the Vocabulary.
Crown paper. See under Paper.
Crown piece. See in the Vocabulary.
Crown Prince, the heir apparent to a crown or throne.
Crown saw. See in the Vocabulary.
Crown scab (Far.), a cancerous sore formed round the corners of a horse's hoof.
Crown sheet, the flat plate which forms the top of the furnace or fire box of an internally fired steam boiler.
Crown shell. (Zool.) See Acorn-shell.
Crown side. See Crown office.
Crown tax (Eccl. Hist.), a golden crown, or its value, which was required annually from the Jews by the king of Syria, in the time of the Maccabees.
Crown wheel. See in the Vocabulary.
Crown work. See in the Vocabulary.
Pleas of the crown (Engl. law), criminal actions.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Crown jewels" Quotes from Famous Books



... so ran the chronicle, "larger than a man's thumb and of a clearness surpassing anything even among the crown jewels. I saw also topaz, sapphires, garnets, turquoises, and opals—all of a beauty greater than any I ever before saw. As for gold, it seems of no value whatever, so generously did they heave ...
— The Web of the Golden Spider • Frederick Orin Bartlett
... you must have played a slicker hand than him. All of which says you must have got more to windward of the law than him—and he knows it. Why, it's easy. The feller who has the money power to hold the crown jewels of Sweden from falling into the hands of yahoo politicians out to grab the things they haven't the brains to come by honestly, is mostly powerful enough to buy up the justice he needs, or any other old thing. Hellbeam means to get his hands on you. He's going to get you ...
— The Man in the Twilight • Ridgwell Cullum
... relatives, Napoleon left most of his personal effects. Among his relatives and favorite followers he distributed a sum of 6,000,000 francs, left in the hands of his bankers at the time of his flight from Paris; likewise the proceeds of a possible sale of his confiscated crown jewels. Count Lavalette and the children of Labedoyere were remembered with bequests of 100,000 and 50,000 francs, respectively. The ...
— A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year - Volume Two (of Three) • Edwin Emerson
... Danish king (Hurry!) That the love of his heart lay suffering, And pined for the comfort his voice would bring; (O, ride as though you were flying!) Better he loves each golden curl On the brow of that Scandinavian girl Than his rich crown jewels of ruby and pearl: And his rose of the ...
— The Home Book of Verse, Vol. 2 (of 4) • Various
... allusions to the perpetual trips of the King to Paris. These cost the royal treasury a pretty penny, and for the twentieth time Juve heard references to a certain red diamond belonging to Frederick-Christian. He had known for a long time that such a diamond was numbered among the crown jewels, and that it was supposed to represent a value of several millions, but he had imagined it was kept in a place of safety. Now he learned that the King was suspected of having pawned it to raise money. With his most innocent air, he questioned one ...
— A Royal Prisoner • Pierre Souvestre
... will as if it had been one of his horses. "I bequeath unto my dear nephew, Frederick William, as unto my immediate successor, the Kingdom of Prussia, the provinces, towns, palaces, forts, fortresses, all ammunition and arsenals, all lands mine by inheritance or right of conquest, the crown jewels, gold and silver service of plate in Berlin, country houses, collections of coins, picture galleries, gardens, and so forth." Contrast this will with the utterances of Washington and Hamilton made ...
— My Four Years in Germany • James W. Gerard
... doubtful, and the duchess would better have everything ready for her flight and that of the princes, and, in case of the worst, to carry with her the crown jewels, the royal seal and a ...
— Uarda • Georg Ebers
... gentlemen were appointed its guardians, among whom he was one; and that he received a most urgent entreaty from an old lady of the Maxwell family to be permitted to see it. She was nearly ninety years old, and feared she might not live till the crown jewels of Scotland were permitted to become objects of public exhibition, and pressed Sir Walter with importunate prayers to allow her to see them before she died. Sir Walter's good sense and good nature alike induced him to take upon himself to grant the poor old lady's petition, and he himself conducted ...
— Records of a Girlhood • Frances Anne Kemble


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