"sieve-like, riddled with small holes," 1741, from Latin cribrum "a sieve" (from PIE root *krei- "to sieve") + -form.
Entries linking to cribriform
*krei-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to sieve," thus "discriminate, distinguish."
It forms all or part of: ascertain; certain; concern; concert; crime; criminal; crisis; critic; criterion; decree; diacritic; discern; disconcert; discreet; discriminate; endocrine; excrement; excrete; garble; hypocrisy; incertitude; recrement; recriminate; riddle (n.2) "coarse sieve;" secret; secretary.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek krinein "to separate, decide, judge," krinesthai "to explain;" Latin cribrum "sieve," crimen "judgment, crime," cernere "to sift, distinguish, separate;" Old Irish criathar, Old Welsh cruitr "sieve;" Middle Irish crich "border, boundary;" Old English hriddel "sieve."
-form
word-forming element meaning "-like, -shaped, in the form of," from French -forme and directly from Latin -formis "-like, shaped," from forma "form" (see form (n.)). Properly preceded by an -i-.