crown, circular head ornament, symbolizing sovereign dignity. (For crowns worn by nobles, see coronet.) The use of the crown as a symbol of royal rank is of ancient tradition in Egypt and the Middle East. In ancient Greece and Rome, however, crowns—sometimes made of leaves—were merely wreaths, awarded to victors in athletic or poetic contests or bestowed on citizens in recognition of an act of public service. The crown as used in medieval and modern times is an elaboration of the diadem and is generally made of metal, often gold inlaid with precious gems. The crown became thoroughly identified with the functions of monarchy, and the term crown is often used in a purely institutional sense, as in crown lands, crown colonies, and crown debt. Among famous crowns of historic interest are the Lombard iron crown, kept at Monza, Italy; the crown of Charlemagne, at Vienna, Austria; and the sacred crown of St. Stephen of Hungary. These are exceptional in that they were used repeatedly over centuries for coronation ceremonies. Most crowns are of recent origin, although the jewels they contain are often taken from older crowns. The ancient crowns of England were destroyed under Oliver Cromwell. There are two crowns used by the British sovereigns: the crown of Edward the Confessor (a much-altered replica of the original crown) is used for the coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey, and the imperial state crown is worn on state occasions. Crowns are also worn by the consorts and families of sovereigns. The triple crown of the popes, known as a tiara, dates from the 14th cent. Regardless of their actual shape, crowns are usually represented in heraldry as closed at the top by four arched bars called diadems and surmounted by a globe and a cross. In religion and art, a crown symbolizes sovereignty (Rev. 19.12) and also honor, especially the reward of martyrdom (Heb. 2.9).

Reddish and heavy-spined starfish (Acanthaster planci) that has 12–19 arms and is often 18 in. (45 cm) across. It feeds on the polyps of coral. Beginning circa 1963, its population on Australia's Great Barrier Reef exploded. Destruction of coral reefs and islands was feared, and intensive efforts were made to kill it off. Since then other outbreaks have been recorded throughout the southern Pacific. The cause of the outbreaks is unknown, but several factors have been proposed, such as the decimation of the starfish's chief predator, the Pacific triton (a marine snail), by shell collectors. Other factors, including the runoff of nutrient-rich soil into reef waters as a result of shorefront development, have also been implicated. Population fluctuations could also be a feature of the starfish's natural ecology, and human influence may alter these cycles.

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Vigorous trailing legume (Coronilla varia), native to the Mediterranean but widely grown in temperate areas as a ground cover. It has fernlike leaves and clusters of white to pink flowers. The sturdy roots are useful in binding the soil of steep slopes and roadside embankments. As a legume, crown vetch draws nitrogen from the air, trapping it in the roots, and thus improves soil fertility. It dies back to the crown each fall in cold areas, resuming growth in spring. Cutting the plant back in the fall or early spring encourages quick growth.

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Ornaments used at the coronation of a monarch and the formal ensigns of monarchy worn or carried on state occasions, as well as collections of personal jewelry consolidated by European sovereigns as valuable assets of their royal houses and the offices they filled. Most familiar are those of Britain, which include St. Edward's Crown, the Royal Sceptre (with the Star of Africa diamond), the Sceptre of Equity and Mercy, and the Sword of Offering, as well as the coronation ring, anointing spoon, ampulla (flask), and coronation bracelets. Many collections of royal jewelry have been assembled, confiscated, and dispersed over the centuries.

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Disease of plants caused by the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Thousands of plant species are susceptible, including especially rose, grape, pome and stone fruits (e.g., apples, peaches), shade and nut trees, many shrubs and vines, and perennial garden plants. Symptoms include roundish, rough-surfaced galls, several inches or more in diameter. At first cream-coloured or greenish, they later turn brown or black. As the disease progresses, affected plants lose vigour and may eventually die.

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Crown may refer to:

Architecture

• Crown, the highest point of a convex structure, such as an arch or a vault.

Monarchy

• Civic Crown
• Consort crown
• Coronation crown
• Crown (headgear), the headgear worn by a monarch, other high dignitaries, divinities, etc.
• Hungary's Holy Crown
• Grass Crown
• Heraldic crown
• Naval crown
• Mural crown
• Imperial crown
• State crown
• The Crown, an abstract concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of some (Commonwealth) governments
• Triple Crown, the Papal Tiara

Currency

• Austro-Hungarian krone (so-called because of use of Latin 'corona' on coins)
• British crown coin and/or British half crown coin
• Krone
• Krona
• koruna
• Estonian kroon, the currency of Estonia
• Faroese króna, the currency of the Faroe Islands
• Hungarian korona, former currency of Hungary
• Icelandic króna, the currency of Iceland

Education

• Crown College, University of California, Santa Cruz, a residential college
• Crown College (Minnesota), a small private college in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota
• Crown College (Tennessee), an unaccredited school with approximately 900 students
• Crown College (Washington), a small, for-profit, predominantly online college located in Tacoma, Washington.
• S.R. Crown Hall, a building at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois
• Dundee-Crown High School, a NW Suburban Chicago High School originally named Crown before merging with Dundee High School and becoming Dundee-Crown. Team name is Chargers, main rival are the Jacobs Golden Eagles.

Music and audio

• Crown, a song from the album Dosage by Collective Soul
• Crown, a stevedore-pimp who becomes a murderer in the opera Porgy and Bess. He is Bess's former lover and the principal villain of the piece; the other villain is Sportin' Life, the elegant dope peddler.
• Crown International, amplifier and microphone manufacturer founded in Elkhart, Indiana in 1947 by Clarence C. Moore
• Crown Records, a number of different record labels
• The Crown (band), a Swedish death/thrash band

Dentistry

• Crown (dentistry), a dental treatment
• Crown (tooth), a portion of a tooth

Science

• Crown (anatomy), the top of the head
• Crown (botany), the branching leaf-bearing portion of a tree
• Crown ether, a family of heterocyclic molecules including 18-crown-6
• Crown group, a group of living organisms
• Crown Vetch, a plant

Sport and entertainment

• Crown Limited, an Australian gaming and entertainment company established in 2007
• Crown Casino, a casino in Melbourne, Australia
• Crown Macau, a 6-star hotel casino in Macau
• Crown Las Vegas, a cancelled supertall skyscraper that was to be built on the Las Vegas Strip
• Crown Media, a media production company
• The Crown, the former name of the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio

Motor vehicles

• Crown (automobile), an automobile built in Detroit, MI, in 1905
• Crown Coach Corporation, an American school bus manufacturer
• Ford Crown Victoria, a model of Ford car
• Toyota Crown, a model of Toyota car

Literature, theater and movies

• A crown of sonnets is a group of related sonnets
• Crown (comics), an enemy of Spider-Man
• Crowns (play), a drama by playwright Regina Taylor (ISBN 0-8222-1963-8), based on the book Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats
• Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats, a book of photos by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry, published in 2000 (ISBN 0-385-50086-6)
• Diu Crône, an Arthurian romance
• The Thomas Crown Affair, a 1968 film about a millionaire who steals a painting
• The Thomas Crown Affair, a 1999 remake of the 1968 film

Places

• Crown, Inverness
• Crown Gardens, Gauteng, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa
• Crown Hill (various places)
• Crown North, Gauteng, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa
• Crown Point (various places)

Other businesses

• Crown Castle, an American communications company
• Crown Equipment Corporation, a manufacturer of industrial lift trucks
• Crown Financial Ministries, a non-profit financial services entity
• Crown International, part of Harman International Industries
• Crown Publishing Group, a subsidiary of Random House
• Crown Wallpaper, a British wallpaper manufacturer
• Crowne Plaza, an hotel chain

Religion

• Crown of Thorns, in Christianity, the headgear placed on Jesus before his execution
• Crown of Immortality, a literary and religious metaphor appearing in Baroque art.

Other

• Crown, a pint of guinness
• Crown, one proposed additional suit (cards)
• Crown, the highest part of a tunnel
• Crown, the top piece of a fountain
• Crown, the winding knob of a mechanical watch
• crown glass, the name for high quality glasses used in optics or glazing
• Crown Lager, a beer brewed in Melbourne since 1919
• crown wheel is a wheel where the teeth are set perpendicular to the plane of rotation.
• Lester Crown (born 1926), American businessman
• Norwegian Crown, a cruise ship
• The Crown, student newspaper at Redeemer University College