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A shortened form of Accademia della Crusca, an academy in Florence, Italy, founded in the 16th century, especially for conserving the purity of the Italian language.

A shortened form of Accademia della Crusca, an academy in Florence, Italy, founded in the 16th century, especially for conserving the purity of the Italian language.

[It., of the sieve.] The Academia della Crusca was founded in Florence in 1582, and is now incorporated with the Ac. Florentina. The dictionary published by this academy established the Tuscan dialect as the standard of the Italian language.