crucible
noun /ˈkruːsɪbl/
/ˈkruːsɪbl/
- a pot in which substances are heated to high temperatures, metals are melted, etc.
enlarge image - (formal or literary) a place or situation in which people or ideas are tested severely, often creating something new or exciting in the process
- an alliance forged in the crucible of war
- The Lake District in 1800 was the crucible of the new Romantic movement in English poetry.
Word Originlate Middle English: from medieval Latin crucibulum ‘night lamp, crucible’ (perhaps originally a lamp hanging in front of a crucifix), from Latin crux, cruc- ‘cross’.