Meaning

adjective marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws

adjective at or of a point at which a property or phenomenon suffers an abrupt change especially having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction

adjective characterized by careful evaluation and judgment

originEtymology tree Proto-Indo-European *krey- Proto-Indo-European *krinyétider. Proto-Hellenic *kríňňō Ancient Greek κρῑ́νω (krī́nō) Ancient Greek κρῐ- (krĭ-) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek κρῐτής (krĭtḗs) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ῐκός (-ĭkós) Ancient Greek κριτικός (kritikós)bor. Latin criticus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0