I remember "Crysis" was a common word in textbooks when I was in school, but "Crysis" has made way for "Crisis" in lots of articles I have read recently.
Has "Crisis" really gained popularity? Any preference in AmE or BrE or International English?
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1Crysis is not an English word (or a very uncommon one) - just to be sure I checked several online dictionaries and none of them listed it. Crisis on the other hand is a very common word.– David HallNov 26, 2014 at 14:15
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4Crysis is a series of video games - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crysis_(series) & not an Eng word otherwise, afaik.– DoneWithThis.Nov 26, 2014 at 14:26
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"Crisis ... is a very common word." All too common.– TimRNov 26, 2014 at 14:28
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I knew that. That's one of my favorite video games. However, The funny thing is after I played that game I found out "crisis" was all too common. @Tetsujin– Kinzle BNov 26, 2014 at 14:31
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1No worry. I didn't take that as scorn at all. I guess it was my middle school textbook. Perhaps I didn't remember correctly. I'll let you know when I find it out. :-) @ColleenV– Kinzle BNov 26, 2014 at 15:48
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1 Answer
Since generic terms cannot be trademarked, businesses at least in the US have for a long time intentionally misspelled common words. It can also be done for marketing or artistic reasons to impart a mysterious or esoteric quality to an otherwise standard word.
A Google search confirms crisis derives from Greek - and it's been an "i" for a long time. The following is excerpted from that search:
late Middle English (denoting the turning point of a disease): medical Latin, from Greek krisis ‘decision,’ from krinein ‘decide.’ The general sense ‘decisive point’ dates from the early 17th century. 1
