A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

Crepido,-inis (s.f.III), abl. sg. crepidine: “ a bank (Stearn in Ray); classically,“a ground, basis, foundation, a base; an elevated enclosure, a high projection, an edge, ledge, brim, brink, border, dam, dike, pier, shore, bank” (Lewis & Short); (Medieval Brit. Latin): > Gk. krEpis; a bank, shore; brim; cliff, crag; base, foundation; a vault; the hold (of a ship)” (Howlett et al.); cf. ripa,-ae (s.f.I), the bank of a stream or river, beach, shore; ripa,-ae is mostly associated with stream-banks, whereas crepido,-inis is often mostly associated with mountains [Gk. krEpis,-idos (s.f.III) “a man’s high boot, half-boot; (generally) groundwork, foundation, basement (of a building or altar); walled edge of a river or canal, quay; the abutment of a bridge; the tiers of seats in a theater; Helminthia echioides, Ox-tongue; a bandage” (Liddell & Scott).

NOTE: the general definition seems to conflate classical Latin and Greek. As a grographical feature it approaches:

Cliff (Eng.noun): (especially the top of) a steep, overhanging, or vertical rock face, esp. on coasts at the edge of the sea; part of an escarpment, associated with mountainous areas and along rivers, e.g. the walls of a gorge.

Crag (Eng.noun): a steep, rugged rock, or rock face or cliff that rises above others or projects from a rock mass (Collins Dictionary); also “archaic: a sharp detached fragment of rock” (Merriam-Webster).

Brim (Eng.noun) = top edge. brimme (“bank, edge, or margin of a lake or river; shore of a sea; brink; rim”); Originally, a border or edge of a sea, a river, or other body of water; now, any border or edge; the mouth or edge of a well, the brim or lip of a cup. Bank (Eng.noun): the land alongside or sloping down to a river or lake: a mound, pile, or ridge raised above the surrounding level: such as: the rising ground of an escarpment bordering a lake, river, or sea or forming the edge of a cut or hollow.

- in saxorum crepidinibus et antiquis muris, on banks of stones (i.e. stone or dry walls) and old walls” (Stearn in Ray).

NOTE: a drywall is a wall constructed without a wet medium, such as plaster or mortar, which require a drying out process.

Examples with MOUNTAINS: on (high elevation or alpine) crags, cliffs, rock-faces;

- [mosses] HAB. In crepidinibus Andium inter Tulcan et Quito (Hooker), it grows on the cliffs of the Andes between Tulcan and Quito.

- [mosses] HAB. crepidines juxta Caripe, locis scopulosis, temperatis, irriguis, altitudine 480 hexapod. (Hooker), it dwells on elevations near Caripe, in rocky places, temperate, irrigated, with an altitude of 480 hexapods [=six feet; 480 x 6 = 2880 feet].

- Patria. In crepidinibus montis ignivomi Ruen-Pichincha prope Tablahuma regni Quitensis, regione frigida super basaltum, altitudine 2340 hexapodum: Humboldt et B o n p 1 a n d (Hooker), on the crags of the volcanic mountain Ruen-Pichincha near Tablhuma of the kingdom of Quito, in frigid region upon basalt, at an altitude of 14,040 feet [2340 x 6].

- Patria. In crepidinibus montis Quindiu regni Mexicani, in regione temperata: Humboldt et Bonpland (Hooker), native land, on the cliffs of mount Quindiu of the kingdom of Mexico, in the temperate region.

Examples with SHORELINES, SHORES, BEACHES of both streams and the sea;

- In crepidine seu aggere illo e lapillis & filicibus aestus marini impetu coacervatis composito, qui ab Aldeburgo Suffolciae oppido in longum ad Orfordiam fere usque procurrit, portumque Orfordiensem ab Oceano dividit, copiose provenit (Ray), it abundantly occurs on the bank or mound composed of small stones [i.e. pebbles] and ferns heaped up by the force of the marine tide, which runs on from the town Aldeburg in Suffolk in length almost to Orford, and divides the port in Orford from the ocean.

- [White Glasswort; Blitum) erectam & fruticescentem observavi copiosissimam in Lingula illa seu crepidine petrosa, quae a ‘Portlandia’ Insula versus littus Anglicum porrigitur (Ray), I have observed it erect and setting out shoots [becoming bushy] in great abundance in that Lingula [the tongue] or rocky bank, which extends from the Island ‘Portlandia’ [Portland] towards the English shore.

NOTE: Lingula,-ae (s.f.I), little tongue; a long narrow strip of land projecting into a body of water (Merriam-Webster).

- [Tithymalus] in Germania vero superiore & inferiore ad Rhenum, ut & in Silesia ad sabulosas fluminum crepidines, copiose oritur (Ray), it abundantly arises in upper and lower Germany on the Rhine, as also in Silesia on the (coarse) sandy banks of the rivers.

- crepidines sabulosi fluminum & vicini colles frequentius hunc alunt, inquit J. B. Abundat in planitie arenosa prope Argentinam, & Basilea: ad Rhenum versus Haltingen, ut & prope Monspelium (Ray), coarsely sandy banks of rivers and more frequently nurture this and on the hills of the vicinity, J. B. says, it abounds on the sandy plain near Argentina and Basilea: on the Rhine toward Haltinger, as it does also near Monspelium.