cresta

See also: Cresta

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin crista.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈkɾe̞s.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈkɾəs.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈkɾɛs.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈkɾes.ta]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

cresta f (plural crestes)

1. comb, crest (a fleshy growth on the top of the head of some birds and reptiles)
2. crest (the ridge or top of a wave)

Derived terms

• cresta de gall
• crestablanc
• crestablau
• crestagrís
• crestagroc
• crestall
• crestanegre
• crestat
• crestavermell
• crestejar
• cresteria
• descrestar

Further reading

• “cresta”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “cresta”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “cresta” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “cresta”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Italian

Etymology

From Latin crista.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkres.ta/
• Rhymes: -esta
• Hyphenation: cré‧sta

Noun

cresta f (plural creste)

1. crest
2. comb (of a chicken etc.)
3. ridge (of a mountain)
4. Mohawk hairstyle

Related terms

• cresta dell' onda
• cresta del monte
• cresta del gallo

Anagrams

• tresca

Occitan

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Noun

cresta f (plural crestas)

1. crest, ridge

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛstɐ

Verb

cresta

1. inflection of crestar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Romanian

Alternative forms

• încresta

Etymology

Often considered to be from creastă, but more likely ultimately from Latin castrāre through metathesis (and thus possibly a doublet of the borrowing castra). Compare Occitan crestar (“to castrate”), Portuguese crestar (“collect honey from a beehive”). See also the change of 'a' to 'e' in rapidus to repede. For the development of the meaning, compare Abruzzo dialect castrá, Calabrian ncastra, ncastratura.

Verb

a cresta (third-person singular present crestează, past participle crestat) 1st conjugation

1. to cut
2. to notch
3. to make incisions

Conjugation

    conjugation of cresta (first conjugation, -ez- infix)

infinitive			a cresta
gerund			crestând
past participle			crestat
number		singular			plural
person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	crestez	crestezi	crestează	crestăm	crestați	crestează
	imperfect	crestam	crestai	cresta	crestam	crestați	crestau
	simple perfect	crestai	crestași	crestă	crestarăm	crestarăți	crestară
	pluperfect	crestasem	crestaseși	crestase	crestaserăm	crestaserăți	crestaseră
subjunctive		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	să crestez	să crestezi	să cresteze	să crestăm	să crestați	să cresteze
imperative		—	tu	—	—	voi	—
	affirmative		crestează			crestați
	negative		nu cresta			nu crestați

Derived terms

• crestătură
• crestare

See also

• castra

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin crista. Doublet of crista.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɾesta/ [ˈkɾes.t̪a]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -esta
• Syllabification: cres‧ta

Noun

cresta f (plural crestas)

1. comb (of a chicken or other bird)
2. crest (of an animal)
3. sharp peaks (of a mountain)
4. ridge (of a wave)
5. Mohawk hairstyle

   Synonyms: mohicano, iro

Derived terms

• carbonero cresta negra
• cresta de gallo
• crestear
• descrestar
• estar en la cresta de la ola
• sacar la cresta

Interjection

cresta

1. (Chile, vulgar) shit, damn (failure)

Further reading

• “cresta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025