Cru"cial (kr?"shal), a. [F. crucial, fr. L. crux, crucis, cross, torture. See Cross.]

1.

Having the form of a cross; appertaining to a cross; cruciform; intersecting; as, crucial ligaments; a crucial incision.

2.

Severe; trying or searching, as if bringing to the cross; decisive; as, a crucial test.

 

© Webster 1913.