Most people consider the word crayon to mean an art supply stick composed of colored wax. However, crayon may also be used to mean an art supply stick made of chalk or charcoal. Crayon may also be used as a verb to mean coloring with crayons. Related words are crayons, crayoned, crayoning. The word crayon comes from the French word craie meaning chalk, and the French word crayon, which means pencil.
Crayola is an American brand of wax crayons. The name Crayola was coined by Alice Binney, the wife of one of the founders of Binney and Smith, the company that first produced Crayola crayons. Mrs. Binney combined the French word craie, meaning chalk, and ola, an abbreviation of the French word oléagineux, which means oily. Crayola is sometimes used as a generic term for crayons, note that Crayola is always capitalized. Crayola crayons were first sold in 1903.
Examples
But for the makers of crayons and colour pencils, the trend also poses a fundamental strategic question: is the current boom in demand just a passing fad or is it a new sustainable trend? (The Deccan Chronicle)
Brisbane based pair Christian McKechnie and Ben Lees came up with the idea to create, package and sell monster-shaped crayons as part of a self-sustainable business model for Act for Kids, a counselling service that provides art therapy for children to help them work through their emotions. (The Brisbane Times)
Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful is currently accepting crayons for recycling which will be repurposed into new shapes and used for educating early childhood students. (The Rock River Times)
Coloring in January evoked Crayola white snowstorms and silver icicles that dripped off the sloping wild strawberry roof whose eaves fell just below my bedroom window. (The Westport News)
The space isn’t exactly Disneyesque — there’s a box of Crayolas, an empty Paw Patrol inflatable pool stuffed with toys, and a puppet stage that Gaffigan will later agree to stick his head through to appease a photographer. (The Boston Globe)