Broke into small pieces, usually by hand or through age and decay; fell apart into fragments.
From Old English 'cruma' (crumb) related to Proto-Germanic 'krumb-'. The verb form developed naturally as people described the action of something breaking into crumbs. Related to 'crumb' and 'crimp', all suggesting small, broken pieces.
Archaeologists study ancient civilizations by examining how their buildings crumbled—the pattern of decay tells them whether a structure fell from earthquake, siege, or simple abandonment. Crumbling is actually a very informative form of destruction!
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