Adjacent Words

Cross definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CROSS, n. [G., L.]
1. A gibbet consisting of two pieces of timber placed across each other, either in form of a T or of an X. That on which our Savior suffered, is represented on coins and other monuments, to have been of the former kind.
2. The ensign of the Christian religion; and hence figuratively, the religion itself.
3. A monument with a cross upon it to excite devotion, such as were anciently set in market places.
4. Any thing in the form of a cross or gibbet.
5. A line drawn through another.
6. Any thing that thwarts, obstructs, or perplexes; hindrance; vexation; misfortune; opposition; trial of patience.
Heaven prepares good men with crosses.
7. Money or coin stamped with the figure of a cross.
8. The right side or face of a coin, stamped with a cross.
9. The mark of a cross, instead of a signature, on a deed, formerly impressed by those who could not write.
10. Church lands in Ireland.
11. In theology, the suffering of Christ by crucifixion.
That he might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross. Ephesians 2.
12. The doctrine of Christs sufferings and of the atonement, or of salvation by Christ.
The preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness. 1 Corinthians 1. Galatians 5.
To take up the cross, is to submit to troubles and afflictions from love to Christ.
13. In mining, two nicks cut in the surface of the earth, thus +.
Cross and pile, a play with money, at which it is put to chance whether a coin shall fall with that side up, which bears the cross, or the other which is called pile or reverse.
CROSS, a.
1. Transverse; oblique; passing from side to side; falling athwart; as a cross beam.
The cross refraction of a second prism.
2. Adverse; opposite; obstructing; sometimes with to; as an event cross to our inclinations.
3. Perverse; untractable; as the cross circumstances of a mans temper.
4. Peevish; fretful; ill-humored; applied to persons or things; as a cross woman or husband; a cross answer.
5. Contrary; contradictory; perplexing.
Contradictions that seem to lie cross and uncouth.
6. Adverse; unfortunate.
Behold the cross and unlucky issue of my design.
7. Interchanged; as a cross marriage, when a brother and sister intermarry with two persons who have the same relation to each other.
8. Noting what belongs to an adverse party; as a cross interrogatory.
CROSS, prep. Athwart; transversely; over; from side to side; so as to intersect.
This is admissible in poetry, as an abbreviation of across.
CROSS, v.t.
1. To draw or run a line, or lay a body across another; as, to cross a word in writing; to cross the arms.
2. To erase; to cancel; as, to cross an account.
3. To make the sign of the cross, as catholics in devotion.
4. To pass from side to side; to pass or move over; as, to cross a road; to cross a river, or the ocean. I crossed the English channel, from Dieppe to Brighton, in a steam-boat, Sept. 18, 1824.
5. To thwart; to obstruct; to hinder; to embarrass; as, to cross a purpose or design.
6. To counteract; to clash or interfere with; to be inconsistent with; as, natural appetites may cross our principles.
7. To counteract or contravene; to hinder by authority; to stop. [See No. 5.]
8. To contradict.
9. To debar or preclude.
To cross the breed of an animal, is to produce young from different varieties of the species.
CROSS, v.i.
1. To lie or be athwart.
2. To move or pass laterally, or from one side towards the other, or from place to place, either at right angles or obliquely; as, to cross from Nantucket to New Bedford.
3. To be inconsistent; as, mens actions d not always cross with reason.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: extending or lying across; in a crosswise direction; at right angles to the long axis; "cross members should be all steel"; "from the transverse hall the stairway ascends gracefully"; "transversal vibrations"; "transverse colon" [syn: cross, transverse, transversal, thwartwise]
2: annoyed and irritable [syn: crabbed, crabby, cross, fussy, grouchy, grumpy, bad-tempered, ill-tempered] n
1: a wooden structure consisting of an upright post with a transverse piece
2: a marking that consists of lines that cross each other [syn: crisscross, cross, mark]
3: a representation of the structure on which Jesus was crucified; used as an emblem of Christianity or in heraldry
4: any affliction that causes great suffering; "that is his cross to bear"; "he bears his afflictions like a crown of thorns" [syn: cross, crown of thorns]
5: (genetics) an organism that is the offspring of genetically dissimilar parents or stock; especially offspring produced by breeding plants or animals of different varieties or breeds or species; "a mule is a cross between a horse and a donkey" [syn: hybrid, crossbreed, cross]
6: (genetics) the act of mixing different species or varieties of animals or plants and thus to produce hybrids [syn: hybridization, hybridisation, crossbreeding, crossing, cross, interbreeding, hybridizing] v
1: travel across or pass over; "The caravan covered almost 100 miles each day" [syn: traverse, track, cover, cross, pass over, get over, get across, cut through, cut across]
2: meet at a point [syn: intersect, cross]
3: hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; "What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge"; "foil your opponent" [syn: thwart, queer, spoil, scotch, foil, cross, frustrate, baffle, bilk]
4: fold so as to resemble a cross; "she crossed her legs" [ant: uncross]
5: to cover or extend over an area or time period; "Rivers traverse the valley floor", "The parking lot spans 3 acres"; "The novel spans three centuries" [syn: cross, traverse, span, sweep]
6: meet and pass; "the trains crossed"
7: trace a line through or across; "cross your `t'"
8: breed animals or plants using parents of different races and varieties; "cross a horse and a donkey"; "Mendel tried crossbreeding"; "these species do not interbreed" [syn: crossbreed, cross, hybridize, hybridise, interbreed]

Merriam Webster's

I. biographical name Wilbur Lucius 1862-1948 American educator & politician II. geographical name river 300 miles (483 kilometers) W Africa in W Cameroon & SE Nigeria flowing W & S into Gulf of Guinea

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Old Norse or Old Irish; Old Norse kross, from Old Irish cros, from Latin cruc-, crux Date: before 12th century 1. a. a structure consisting of an upright with a transverse beam used especially by the ancient Romans for execution b. often capitalized the cross on which Jesus was crucified 2. a. crucifixion b. an affliction that tries one's virtue, steadfastness, or patience 3. a cruciform sign made to invoke the blessing of Christ especially by touching the forehead, breast, and shoulders 4. a. a device composed of an upright bar traversed by a horizontal one; specifically one used as a Christian symbol b. capitalized the Christian religion 5. a structure (as a monument) shaped like or surmounted by a cross 6. a figure or mark formed by two intersecting lines crossing at their midpoints; specifically such a mark used as a signature 7. a cruciform badge, emblem, or decoration 8. the intersection of two ways or lines ; crossing 9. annoyance, thwarting <a cross in love> 10. a. an act of crossing dissimilar individuals b. a crossbred individual or kind c. one that combines characteristics of two different types or individuals 11. a. a fraudulent or dishonest contest b. dishonest or illegal practices — used especially in the phrase on the cross 12. a movement from one part of a theater stage to another 13. a. a punch thrown over the opponent's lead in boxing b. an attacking pass in soccer played across the field from one side to the other or to the middle 14. a security transaction in which a broker acts for both buyer and seller (as in the placing of a large lot of common stock) — called also cross-trade II. verb Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to lie or be situated across b. intersect 2. to make the sign of the cross upon or over 3. to cancel by marking a cross on or drawing a line through ; strike out <cross names off a list> 4. to place or fold crosswise one over the other <cross the arms> 5. a. (1) to run counter to ; oppose (2) to deny the validity of ; contradict b. to confront in a troublesome manner ; obstruct c. (1) to spoil completely ; disrupt — used with up <his failure to appear crossed up the whole program> (2) to turn against ; betray <crossed me up on the deal> 6. a. to extend across or over ; traverse <a highway crossing the entire state> b. reach, attain <only two crossed the finish line> c. to go from one side of to the other <cross a street> <crosses racial barriers> 7. a. to draw a line across b. to mark or figure with lines ; streak 8. to cause (an animal or plant) to interbreed with one of a different kind ; hybridize 9. to meet and pass on the way <our letters must have crossed each other> 10. to occur to <it never crossed my mind> 11. to carry or take across something <crossed the children at the intersection> intransitive verb 1. a. to move, pass, or extend across something <crossed through France> <crossed over to the other side of the river> b. to move or pass from one character, condition, or allegiance to another — used with over <crossing over to vote for another party's candidate> <a musician who has crossed over from country to pop> 2. to lie or be athwart each other 3. to meet in passing especially from opposite directions 4. interbreed, hybridize • crosser noun III. adjective Date: 14th century 1. a. lying across or athwart b. moving across <cross traffic> 2. a. running counter ; opposite b. mutually opposed <cross purposes> 3. involving mutual interchange ; reciprocal 4. marked by typically transitory bad temper 5. extending over or treating several groups, conditions, or classes <a cross sample from 25 colleges> 6. crossbred, hybrid • crossly adverb • crossness noun IV. preposition Date: 1551 across V. adverb Date: 1577 not parallel ; crisscross, crosswise

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n., v., & adj. --n. 1 an upright post with a transverse bar, as used in antiquity for crucifixion. 2 a (the Cross) in Christianity, the cross on which Christ was crucified. b a representation of this as an emblem of Christianity. c = sign of the cross. 3 a staff surmounted by a cross and borne before an archbishop or in a religious procession. 4 a a thing or mark shaped like a cross, esp. a figure made by two short intersecting lines (+ or x). b a monument in the form of a cross, esp. one in the centre of a town or on a tomb. 5 a cross-shaped decoration indicating rank in some orders of knighthood or awarded for personal valour. 6 a an intermixture of animal breeds or plant varieties. b an animal or plant resulting from this. 7 (foll. by between) a mixture or compromise of two things. 8 a a crosswise movement, e.g. of an actor on stage. b Football etc. a pass of the ball across the direction of play. c Boxing a blow with a crosswise movement of the fist. 9 a trial or affliction; something to be endured (bear one's crosses). --v. 1 tr. (often foll. by over; also absol.) go across or to the other side of (a road, river, sea, etc.). 2 a intr. intersect or be across one another (the roads cross near the bridge). b tr. cause to do this; place crosswise (cross one's legs). 3 tr. a draw a line or lines across. b Brit. mark (a cheque) with two parallel lines, and often an annotation, to indicate that it must be paid into a named bank account. 4 tr. (foll. by off, out, through) cancel or obliterate or remove from a list with lines drawn across. 5 tr. (often refl.) make the sign of the cross on or over. 6 intr. a pass in opposite or different directions. b (of letters between two correspondents) each be dispatched before receipt of the other. c (of telephone lines) become wrongly interconnected so that intrusive calls can be heard. 7 tr. a cause to interbreed. b cross-fertilize (plants). 8 tr. thwart or frustrate (crossed in love). 9 tr. sl. cheat. --adj. 1 (often foll. by with) peevish, angry. 2 (usu. attrib.) transverse; reaching from side to side. 3 (usu. attrib.) intersecting. 4 (usu. attrib.) contrary, opposed, reciprocal. Phrases and idioms: as cross as two sticks extremely angry or peevish. at cross purposes misunderstanding or conflicting with one another. cross one's fingers (or keep one's fingers crossed) 1 put one finger across another as a sign of hoping for good luck. 2 trust in good luck. cross the floor join the opposing side in a debating-assembly. cross one's heart make a solemn pledge, esp. by crossing one's front. cross one's mind (of a thought etc.) occur to one, esp. transiently. cross a person's palm (usu. foll. by with) pay a person for a favour. cross the path of 1 meet with (a person). 2 thwart. cross swords (often foll. by with) encounter in opposition; have an argument or dispute. cross wires (or get one's wires crossed) 1 become wrongly connected by telephone. 2 have a misunderstanding. on the cross 1 diagonally. 2 sl. fraudulently, dishonestly. Derivatives: crossly adv. crossness n. Etymology: OE cros f. ON kross f. OIr. cros f. L crux cruc-

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cross Cross, v. t. To cross a check (Eng. Banking), to draw two parallel transverse lines across the face of a check, with or without adding between them the words ``and company'', with or without the words ``not negotiable'', or to draw the transverse lines simply, with or without the words ``not negotiable'' (the check in any of these cases being crossed generally). Also, to write or print across the face of a check the name of a banker, with or without the words ``not negotiable'' (the check being then crossed specially). A check crossed generally is payable only when presented through a bank; one crossed specially, only when presented through the bank mentioned. Cross-buttock Cross"-but`tock, n. (Wrestling) A throw in which the wrestler turns his left side to his opponent, places his left leg across both legs of his opponent, and pulls him forward over his hip; hence, an unexpected defeat or repulse.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cross Cross (kr[o^]s; 115), n. [OE. crois, croys, cros; the former fr. OF. crois, croiz, F. croix, fr. L. crux; the second is perh. directly fr. Prov. cros, crotz. fr. the same L. crux; cf. Icel. kross. Cf. Crucial, Crusade, Cruise, Crux.] 1. A gibbet, consisting of two pieces of timber placed transversely upon one another, in various forms, as a T, or +, with the horizontal piece below the upper end of the upright, or as an X. It was anciently used in the execution of criminals. Nailed to the cross By his own nation. --Milton. 2. The sign or mark of the cross, made with the finger, or in ink, etc., or actually represented in some material; the symbol of Christ's death; the ensign and chosen symbol of Christianity, of a Christian people, and of Christendom. The custom of making the sign of the cross with the hand or finger, as a means of conferring blessing or preserving from evil, is very old. --Schaff-Herzog Encyc. Before the cross has waned the crescent's ray. --Sir W. Scott. Tis where the cross is preached. --Cowper. 3. Affiction regarded as a test of patience or virtue; trial; disappointment; opposition; misfortune. Heaven prepares a good man with crosses. --B. Jonson. 4. A piece of money stamped with the figure of a cross, also, that side of such a piece on which the cross is stamped; hence, money in general. I should bear no cross if I did bear you; for I think you have no money in your purse. --Shak. 5. An appendage or ornament or anything in the form of a cross; a badge or ornamental device of the general shape of a cross; hence, such an ornament, even when varying considerably from that form; thus, the Cross of the British Order of St. George and St. Michael consists of a central medallion with seven arms radiating from it. 6. (Arch.) A monument in the form of a cross, or surmounted by a cross, set up in a public place; as, a market cross; a boundary cross; Charing Cross in London. Dun-Edin's Cross, a pillared stone, Rose on a turret octagon. --Sir W. Scott. 7. (Her.) A common heraldic bearing, of which there are many varieties. See the Illustration, above. 8. The crosslike mark or symbol used instead of a signature by those unable to write. Five Kentish abbesses . . . .subscribed their names and crosses. --Fuller. 9. Church lands. [Ireland] [Obs.] --Sir J. Davies. 10. A line drawn across or through another line. 11. Hence: A mixing of breeds or stock, especially in cattle breeding; or the product of such intermixture; a hybrid of any kind. Toning down the ancient Viking into a sort of a cross between Paul Jones and Jeremy Diddler. --Lord Dufferin.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

12. (Surveying) An instrument for laying of offsets perpendicular to the main course. 13. (Mech.) A pipe-fitting with four branches the axes of which usually form's right angle. Cross and pile, a game with money, at which it is put to chance whether a coin shall fall with that side up which bears the cross, or the other, which is called pile, or reverse; the game called heads or tails. Cross bottony or botton['e]. See under Bottony. Cross estoil['e] (Her.). a cross, each of whose arms is pointed like the ray of a star; that is, a star having four long points only. Cross of Calvary. See Calvary, 3. Southern cross. (Astron.) See under Southern. To do a thing on the cross, to act dishonestly; -- opposed to acting on the square. [Slang] To take up the cross, to bear troubles and afflictions with patience from love to Christ.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cross Cross (kr[o^]s), a. 1. Not parallel; lying or falling athwart; transverse; oblique; intersecting. The cross refraction of the second prism. --Sir I. Newton. 2. Not accordant with what is wished or expected; interrupting; adverse; contrary; thwarting; perverse. ``A cross fortune.'' --Jer. Taylor. The cross and unlucky issue of my design. --Glanvill. The article of the resurrection seems to lie marvelously cross to the common experience of mankind. --South. We are both love's captives, but with fates so cross, One must be happy by the other's loss. --Dryden. 3. Characterized by, or in a state of, peevishness, fretfulness, or ill humor; as, a cross man or woman. He had received a cross answer from his mistress. --Jer. Taylor. 4. Made in an opposite direction, or an inverse relation; mutually inverse; interchanged; as, cross interrogatories; cross marriages, as when a brother and sister marry persons standing in the same relation to each other. Cross action (Law), an action brought by a party who is sued against the person who has sued him, upon the same subject matter, as upon the same contract. --Burrill. Cross aisle (Arch.), a transept; the lateral divisions of a cruciform church. Cross axle. (a) (Mach.) A shaft, windlass, or roller, worked by levers at opposite ends, as in the copperplate printing press. (b) A driving axle, with cranks set at an angle of 90[deg] with each other. Cross bedding (Geol.), oblique lamination of horizontal beds. Cross bill. See in the Vocabulary. Cross bitt. Same as Crosspiece. Cross bond, a form of bricklaying, in which the joints of one stretcher course come midway between those of the stretcher courses above and below, a course of headers and stretchers intervening. See Bond, n., 8. Cross breed. See in the Vocabulary. Cross breeding. See under Breeding. Cross buttock, a particular throw in wrestling; hence, an unexpected defeat or repulse. --Smollet. Cross country, across the country; not by the road. ``The cross-country ride.'' --Cowper. Cross fertilization, the fertilization of the female products of one physiological individual by the male products of another, -- as the fertilization of the ovules of one plant by pollen from another. See Fertilization. Cross file, a double convex file, used in dressing out the arms or crosses of fine wheels. Cross fire (Mil.), lines of fire, from two or more points or places, crossing each other. Cross forked. (Her.) See under Forked. Cross frog. See under Frog. Cross furrow, a furrow or trench cut across other furrows to receive the water running in them and conduct it to the side of the field. Cross handle, a handle attached transversely to the axis of a tool, as in the augur. --Knight. Cross lode (Mining), a vein intersecting the true or principal lode. Cross purpose. See Cross-purpose, in the Vocabulary. Cross reference, a reference made from one part of a book or register to another part, where the same or an allied subject is treated of. Cross sea (Naut.), a chopping sea, in which the waves run in contrary directions. Cross stroke, a line or stroke across something, as across the letter t. Cross wind, a side wind; an unfavorable wind. Cross wires, fine wires made to traverse the field of view in a telescope, and moved by a screw with a graduated head, used for delicate astronomical observations; spider lines. Fixed cross wires are also used in microscopes, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cross Cross, prep. Athwart; across. [Archaic or Colloq.] A fox was taking a walk one night cross a village. --L'Estrange. To go cross lots, to go across the fields; to take a short cut. [Colloq.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cross Cross, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Crossed (kr?st; 115); p. pr. & vb. n. Crossing.] 1. To put across or athwart; to cause to intersect; as, to cross the arms. 2. To lay or draw something, as a line, across; as, to cross the letter t. 3. To pass from one side to the other of; to pass or move over; to traverse; as, to cross a stream. A hunted hare . . . crosses and confounds her former track. -- I. Watts. 4. To pass, as objects going in an opposite direction at the same time. ``Your kind letter crossed mine.'' --J. D. Forbes. 5. To run counter to; to thwart; to obstruct; to hinder; to clash or interfere with. In each thing give him way; cross him in nothing. --Shak. An oyster may be crossed in love. -- Sheridan. 6. To interfere and cut off; to debar. [Obs.] To cross me from the golden time I look for. --Shak. 7. To make the sign of the cross upon; -- followed by the reflexive pronoun; as, he crossed himself. 8. To cancel by marking crosses on or over, or drawing a line across; to erase; -- usually with out, off, or over; as, to cross out a name. 9. To cause to interbreed; -- said of different stocks or races; to mix the breed of. To cross one's path, to oppose one's plans. --Macaulay.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cross Cross, v. i. 1. To lie or be athwart. 2. To move or pass from one side to the other, or from place to place; to make a transit; as, to cross from New York to Liverpool. 3. To be inconsistent. [Obs.] Men's actions do not always cross with reason. --Sir P. Sidney. 4. To interbreed, as races; to mix distinct breeds. If two individuals of distinct races cross, a third is invariably produced different from either. --Coleridge.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

I. VERB AND NOUN USES (crosses, crossing, crossed) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. Please look at category 16 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword. 1. If you cross something such as a room, a road, or an area of land or water, you move or travel to the other side of it. If you cross to a place, you move or travel over a room, road, or area of land or water in order to reach that place. She was partly to blame for failing to look as she crossed the road... Nine Albanians have crossed the border into Greece and asked for political asylum... Egan crossed to the drinks cabinet and poured a Scotch. VERB: V n, V n, V to/into n, also V adv/prep 2. A road, railway, or bridge that crosses an area of land or water passes over it. The Defford to Eckington road crosses the river half a mile outside Eckington. VERB: V n 3. Lines or roads that cross meet and go across each other. ...the intersection where Main and Center streets cross... It is near where the pilgrimage route crosses the road to Quimper. V-RECIP: pl-n V, V n 4. If someone or something crosses a limit or boundary, for example the limit of acceptable behaviour, they go beyond it. I normally never write into magazines but Mr Stubbs has finally crossed the line... VERB: V n 5. If an expression crosses someone's face, it appears briefly on their face. (WRITTEN) Berg tilts his head and a mischievous look crosses his face... VERB: V n 6. A cross is a shape that consists of a vertical line or piece with a shorter horizontal line or piece across it. It is the most important Christian symbol. Round her neck was a cross on a silver chain... N-COUNT 7. If Christians cross themselves, they make the sign of a cross by moving their hand across the top half of their body. 'Holy Mother of God!' Marco crossed himself. VERB: V pron-refl 8. If you describe something as a cross that someone has to bear, you mean it is a problem or disadvantage which they have to deal with or bear. My wife is much cleverer than me; it is a cross I have to bear. = burden N-COUNT 9. A cross is a written mark in the shape of an X. You can use it, for example, to indicate that an answer to a question is wrong, to mark the position of something on a map, or to indicate your vote on a ballot paper. Put a tick next to those activities you like and a cross next to those you dislike. N-COUNT 10. If a cheque is crossed, two parallel lines are drawn across it or printed on it to indicate that it must be paid into a bank account and cannot be cashed. (BRIT) Cheques/postal orders should be crossed and made payable to Newmarket Promotions. ...a crossed cheque. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed 11. If you cross your arms, legs, or fingers, you put one of them on top of the other. Jill crossed her legs and rested her chin on one fist, as if lost in deep thought... He was sitting there in the living room with his legs crossed. VERB: V n, V-ed 12. If you cross someone who is likely to get angry, you oppose them or refuse to do what they want. If you ever cross him, forget it, you're finished. VERB: V n 13. Something that is a cross between two things is neither one thing nor the other, but a mixture of both. It was a lovely dog. It was a cross between a collie and a golden retriever. N-SING: a N between pl-n 14. In some team sports such as football and hockey, a cross is the passing of the ball from the side of the field to a player in the centre, usually in front of the goal. Le Tissier hit an accurate cross to Groves. N-COUNT 15. A cross street is a road that crosses another more important road. (AM) The Army boys had personnel carriers blockading the cross streets. ADJ: ADJ n 16. to cross your fingers: see finger cross my heart: see heart to cross your mind: see mind people's paths cross: see path to cross the Rubicon: see Rubicon to cross swords: see sword see also crossing II. ADJECTIVE USE (crosser, crossest) Someone who is cross is rather angry or irritated. I'm terribly cross with him... She was rather cross about having to trail across London. = annoyed ADJ: usu v-link ADJ • crossly 'No, no, no,' Morris said crossly. ADV: ADV with v

Easton's Bible Dictionary

in the New Testament the instrument of crucifixion, and hence used for the crucifixion of Christ itself (Eph. 2:16; Heb. 12:2; 1 Cor. 1:17, 18; Gal. 5:11; 6:12, 14; Phil. 3:18). The word is also used to denote any severe affliction or trial (Matt. 10:38; 16:24; Mark 8:34; 10:21).

The forms in which the cross is represented are these:

1. The crux simplex (I), a "single piece without transom."

2. The crux decussata (X), or St. Andrew's cross.

3. The crux commissa (T), or St. Anthony's cross.

4. The crux immissa (t), or Latin cross, which was the kind of cross on which our Saviour died. Above our Lord's head, on the projecting beam, was placed the "title." (See CRUCIFIXION.)

After the conversion, so-called, of Constantine the Great (B.C. 313), the cross first came into use as an emblem of Christianity. He pretended at a critical moment that he saw a flaming cross in the heavens bearing the inscription, "In hoc signo vinces", i.e., By this sign thou shalt conquer, and that on the following night Christ himself appeared and ordered him to take for his standard the sign of this cross. In this form a new standard, called the Labarum, was accordingly made, and borne by the Roman armies. It remained the standard of the Roman army till the downfall of the Western empire. It bore the embroidered monogram of Christ, i.e., the first two Greek letters of his name, X and P (chi and rho), with the Alpha and Omega. (See A.)

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(stauros, "a cross," "the crucifixion"; skolops, "a stake," "a pole"): The name is not found in the Old Testament. It is derived from the Latin word crux. In the Greek language it is stauros, but sometimes we find the word skolops used as its Greek equivalent. The historical writers, who transferred the events of Roman history into the Greek language, make use of these two words. No word in human language has become more universally known than this word, and that because all of the history of the world since the death of Christ has been measured by the distance which separates events from it. The symbol and principal content of the Christian religion and of Christian civilization is found in this one word.

1. Forms of the Cross:

The cross occurs in at least four different forms:

(1) the form usually seen in pictures, the crux immissa, in which the upright beam projected above the shorter crosspiece; this is most likely the type of cross on which the Saviour died, as may be inferred from the inscription which was nailed above His head;

(2) the crux commissa, or Anthony's cross, which has the shape of the letter T;

(3) the Greek cross of later date, in which the pieces are equally long;

(4) the crux decussata, or Andrew's cross, which has the shape of the letter X.

2. Discovery of the True Cross:

The early church historians Socrates (1, 17), Sozomen (2, 1), Rufinus (1, 7) and Theodoret (1, 18) all make mention of this tradition. The most significant thing is that Eusebius (Vit. Const., iii.26-28), who carries more weight than they all together, wholly omits it.

According to it, Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, in 325 AD, when she was 79 years old, discovered the true cross of Jesus by an excavation she caused to be made on the traditional spot of His grave. With the cross of the Saviour were found the two crosses of the malefactors who were crucified with Him. A miracle of healing, wrought by touching the true cross, revealed its identity. Whenfound it was intact, even the holy nails of the crucifixion being discovered. The main part of the cross was deposited by Helena in a church erected over the spot. Of the remainder, a portion was inserted into the head of the statue of Constantine, and the balance was placed in a new church, specially erected for it at Rome and named after it Santa Croce. Small fragments of the wood of the true cross were sold, encrusted with gold and jewels, and since many among the wealthy believers were desirous of possessing such priceless relics, the miracle of the "multiplication of the cross" was devised, so that the relic suffered no diminution "et quasi intacta maneret" (Paulinus epistle 11 ad Sev). Fragments of the true cross are thus to be found in many Roman Catholic churches of many countries, all over Christendom. It is said that the East celebrated the staurosimos hemera (Crucifixion Day) on September 14, since the 4th century. The evidence for this fact is late and untrustworthy. It is certain that the West celebrated the Invention of the Cross, on May 3, since the time of Gregory the Great in the 6th century. The finding and publication of the apocryphal "Doctrina Addaei" has made it evident that the entire legend of the discovery of the cross by Helena is but a version of the old Edessa legend, which tells of an identical discovery of the cross, under the very same circumstances, by the wife of the emperor Claudius, who had been converted to Christianity by the preaching of Peter.

3. Symbolical Uses of the Cross:

(1) Extra-Scriptural.

The sign of the cross was well known in the symbolics of various ancient nations. Among the Egyptians it is said to have been the symbol of divinity and eternal life, and to have been found in the temple of Serapis. It is known either in the form of the Greek cross or in the form of the letter "T". The Spaniards found it to be well known, as a symbol, by the Mexicans and Peruvians, perhaps signifying the four elements, or the four seasons, or the four points of the compass.

(2) Scriptural.

The suffering implied in crucifixion naturally made the cross a symbol of pain, distress and burden-bearing. Thus Jesus used it Himself (Mt 10:38; 16:24). In Paulinic literature the cross stands for the preaching of the doctrine of the Atonement (1Co 1:18; Ga 6:14; Php 3:18; Col 1:20). It expresses the bond of unity between the Jew and the Gentile (Eph 2:16), and between the believer and Christ, and also symbolizes sanctification (Ga 5:24). The cross is the center and circumference of the preaching of the apostles and of the life of the New Testament church.

4. Crucifixion:

As an instrument of death the cross was detested by the Jews. "Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree" (Ga 3:13; compare De 21:23), hence, it became a stumbling-block to them, for how could one accursed of God be their Messiah? Nor was the cross differently considered by the Romans. "Let the very name of the cross be far away not only from the body of a Roman citizen, but even from his thoughts, his eyes, his ears" (Cicero Pro Rabirio 5). The earliest mode of crucifixion seems to have been by impalation, the transfixion of the body lengthwise and crosswise by sharpened stakes, a mode of death-punishment still well known among the Mongol race. The usual mode of crucifixion was familiar to the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, Persians and Babylonians (Thuc. 1, 110; Herod. iii.125, 159). Alexander the Great executed two thousand Tyrian captives in this way, after the fall of the city. The Jews received this form of punishment from the Syrians and Romans (Ant., XII, v, 4; XX, vi, 2; BJ, I, iv, 6). The Roman citizen was exempt from this form of death, it being considered the death of a slave (Cicero In Verrem i. 5, 66; Quint. viii.4). The punishment was meted out for such crimes as treason, desertion in the face of the enemy, robbery, piracy, assassination, sedition, etc. It continued in vogue in the Roman empire till the day of Constantine, when it was abolished as an insult to Christianity. Among the Romans crucifixion was preceded by scourging, undoubtedly to hasten impending death. The victim then bore his own cross, or at least the upright beam, to the place of execution. This in itself proves that the structure was less ponderous than is commonly supposed. When he was tied to the cross nothing further was done and he was left to die from starvation. If he was nailed to the cross, at least in Judea, a stupefying drink was given him to deaden the agony. The number of nails used seems to have been indeterminate. A tablet, on which the feet rested or on which the body was partly supported, seems to have been a part of the cross to keep the wounds from tearing through the transfixed members (Iren., Adv. haer., ii.42). The suffering of death by crucifixion was intense, especially in hot climates. Severe local inflammation, coupled with an insignificant bleeding of the jagged wounds, produced traumatic fever, which was aggravated the exposure to the heat of the sun, the strained of the body and insufferable thirst. The swelled about the rough nails and the torn lacerated tendons and nerves caused excruciating agony. The arteries of the head and stomach were surcharged with blood and a terrific throbbing headache ensued. The mind was confused and filled with anxiety and dread foreboding. The victim of crucifixion literally died a thousand deaths. Tetanus not rarely supervened and the rigors of the attending convulsions would tear at the wounds and add to the burden of pain, till at last the bodily forces were exhausted and the victim sank to unconsciousness and death. The sufferings were so frightful that "even among the raging passions of war pity was sometimes excited" (BJ, V, xi, 1). The length of this agony was wholly determined by the constitution of the victim, but death rarely ensued before thirty-six hours had elapsed. Instances are on record of victims of the cross who survived their terrible injuries when taken down from the cross after many hours of suspension (Josephus, Vita, 75). Death was sometimes hastened by breaking the legs of the victims and by a hard blow delivered under the armpit before crucifixion. Crura fracta was a well-known Roman term (Cicero Phil. xiii.12). The sudden death of Christ evidently was a matter of astonishment (Mr 15:44). The peculiar symptoms mentioned by John (19:34) would seem to point to a rupture of the heart, of which the Saviour died, independent of the cross itself, or perhaps hastened by its agony.

See BLOOD AND WATER.

Henry E. Dosker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Gibbet (made of pieces of wood placed transversely). 2. [With The prefixed.] Gospel, Christian doctrine, Christian religion, Christianity, Christendom. 3. Trial, vexation, trouble, affliction, misfortune. 4. Intermixture (of species). II. a. 1. Transverse, lying athwart. 2. Fretful, peevish, petulant, pettish, snappish, waspish, touchy, testy, crusty, churlish, crabbed, captious, ill-natured, morose, sulky, sullen, spleeny, surly, cynical, snarling, sour, ill-tempered, out of humor, out of temper, grouty (colloq.). III. v. a. 1. Put across, put athwart. 2. Mark with a line or lines across. 3. Traverse, pass over, go over. 4. Thwart, hinder, obstruct, interfere with. 5. Intermix, interbreed.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To come home by weeping cross; to repent at the conclusion.

Moby Thesaurus

Agnus Dei, Calvary cross, Cape Colored, Christogram, Eurasian, Greek cross, Holy Grail, Host, Jerusalem cross, John Hancock, Latin cross, Malacca cane, Maltese cross, Russian cross, Sanctus bell, Sangraal, T, X, abjure, achievement, across, across the grain, adversary, adversative, adverse, adverse circumstances, adversity, affliction, against the grain, against the tide, against the wind, aggravation, alerion, alien, alpenstock, angered, angry, animal charge, ankh, annoyance, annoyed, annulet, antagonistic, antagonize, anti, antipathetic, antithetic, arch, argent, ark, armorial bearings, armory, arms, asperger, asperges, aspergillum, assert the contrary, at cross-purposes, at daggers, at daggers drawn, at issue, at loggerheads, at odds, at variance, at war, at war with, athwart, athwartships, autograph, avellan cross, ax, azure, badge, badge of office, badges, baffle, balk, bambino, bandeau, bar, bar sinister, barrow, bastard, baton, be antipathetic, be at cross-purposes, be contrary to, be inimical, beadroll, beads, bearings, bearish, beat against, belie, bend, bend sinister, bestride, bilk, billet, bitchy, bitter cup, bitter draft, bitter draught, bitter pill, blast, blazon, blazonry, blend, bless, blight, block, boat, bordure, boundary stone, brass, brassard, brave, broad arrow, browned-off, bummer, burden, burden of care, burthen, bust, button, bypass, cadency mark, cairn, call into question, calvary, cancel, candle, cane, cankered, cankerworm of care, canoe, cantankerous, canton, cap and gown, captious, care, cargo, carping, carry sail, cast down, cattalo, caviling, cenotaph, censer, chain, chain of office, challenge, chaplet, charge, checkmate, chevron, chi, chi-rho, chiasmal, chiasmic, chiastic, chief, choleric, christcross, churlish, ciborium, cipher, circumnavigate, circumvent, citrange, clash, clashing, class ring, coast, coat of arms, cockade, cockatrice, collar, collide, column, combination, competitive, con, conflict, conflict with, conflicting, confound, confront, confute, contest, contra, contradict, contradictory, contrapose, contrariwise, contrary, contravene, contrawise, controvert, coronet, counter, counteract, counterattack, countermand, countermark, counterpose, countersign, countersignature, counterstamp, countervail, counterwork, crabbed, cranky, crescent, crest, crisscross, cromlech, crook, crosier, cross ancre, cross botonee, cross bourdonee, cross fitche, cross fleury, cross formee, cross fourchee, cross grignolee, cross moline, cross of Cleves, cross of Lorraine, cross patee, cross recercelee, cross-crosslet, cross-grained, cross-shaped, cross-staff, crossbar, crossbones, crossbred, crossbreed, crosscut, crossed, crossing, crosslet, crosslike, crossway, crossways, crosswise, crotchety, crown, crown of thorns, cruciate, crucible, cruciferous, crucifix, cruciform, cruet, cruise, crusty, crutch, crutch-stick, crux, crux ansata, crux capitata, crux decussata, crux gammata, crux immissa, crux ordinaria, cumbrance, cup, curse, cussed, cut across, cyclolith, dagger, dash, deadweight, death chair, death chamber, decoration, decussate, decussated, defeat, defeat expectation, defy, delete, deny, destroy, device, difference, differencing, differing, difficulties, difficulty, disaccordant, disadvantage, disaffirm, disagreeable, disagreeing, disallow, disappoint, disavow, disclaim, discomfit, disconcert, discordant, discountenance, discrepant, dish, disharmonious, disillusion, disown, disproportionate, disprove, dispute, disrupt, dissatisfy, dissentient, dissident, dissonant, distress, divergent, dolmen, double-cross, downer, dress, drop, eagle, electric chair, elude, embarrassment, emblems, encumbrance, endorsement, enemy, ensigns, erase, ermine, ermines, erminites, erminois, escutcheon, eucharistial, ex, excitable, exing, eyeball-to-eyeball, falcon, fasces, faultfinding, feisty, fess, fess point, field, figurehead, file, flanch, fleur-de-lis, flummox, foil, footstone, ford, fork cross, forswear, fractious, freight, fret, frustrate, fur, furious, fusil, gainsay, gall, gall and wormwood, gallows, gallows-tree, gammadion, garland, gas chamber, get ahead of, gibbet, give benediction, go across, go against, go by, go by ship, go counter to, go on shipboard, go to sea, grating, grave, gravestone, grievance, griffe, griffin, grouchy, grumpy, guillotine, gules, gyron, half blood, half-bred, half-breed, half-caste, halter, hammer and sickle, hamper, hand, handicap, handstaff, hard knocks, hard life, hard lot, hardcase, hardship, hatchment, headstone, helmet, hemp, hempen collar, heraldic device, heraldry, high yellow, hinny, hoarstone, holy cross, holy water, holy-water sprinkler, honor point, hostile, hot seat, huffish, huffy, hybrid, hybridize, icon, immiscible, impalement, impaling, impediment, impedimenta, imposition, impugn, in confrontation, in hostile array, in opposition, inaccordant, incensed, incensory, incompatible, inconvenience, indignant, inescutcheon, infliction, inharmonious, inimical, initials, inscription, insignia, interbred, interbreed, intercross, interfere with, intersect, intersected, intersecting, inverted cross, invoke benefits upon, irascible, irate, ireful, irritable, irritated, irritation, jangling, jarring, join, join issue upon, join the opposition, label, ladino, lapel pin, lay hands on, let down, lethal chamber, lie across, lie athwart, liger, lion, lituus, livery, livid, load, lock horns, long cross, lozenge, lumber, mace, mad, maiden, make a passage, mantle, mantling, mark, mark of signature, marker, markings, marshaling, martlet, mascle, matzo, mausoleum, mean, medal, meet, meet head-on, megalith, memento, memorial, memorial arch, memorial column, memorial statue, memorial stone, menhir, menorah, mestee, mestiza, mestizo, metal, metis, metisse, mezuzah, mikvah, militate against, miscegenate, mixblood, mixed-blood, mongrel, mongrelize, monogram, monolith, monstrance, monument, moody, mortarboard, motorboat, motto, mound, mulatto, mule, mullet, mustee, navigate, necrology, negate, negative, nombril point, noncooperative, nonplus, noose, not abide, not accept, not admit, nullify, obelisk, obituary, oblique, obliquely, obstinate, octofoil, octoroon, old school tie, onus, opponent, oppose, opposed, opposing, opposite, oppositional, oppositive, oppression, oppugn, oppugnant, or, ordeal, ordinary, orle, ornery, osculatory, ostensorium, out of accord, out of whack, over, overstride, overthwart, pack, pack of troubles, pale, paly, papal cross, paschal candle, pass, pass by, pass over, pastoral staff, paterissa, pax, pean, peck of troubles, pectoral cross, peevish, penalty, perplex, perverse, pettish, petulant, pheon, phylacteries, pillar, pin, piqued, pissed, pissed-off, plaque, play at cross-purposes, plight, plumcot, ply, potent cross, prayer shawl, prayer wheel, predicament, pressure, prize, protest, purpure, pyramid, pyx, quadroon, quarter, quartering, quarterstaff, querulous, quick-tempered, quintroon, ratty, rebut, recalcitrant, recant, refractory, refuse to admit, refute, regalia, reject, relics, reliquary, remembrance, renounce, repudiate, repugnant, resist, retract, revoke, ribbon, rigor, riled up, ring, rival, rood, rope, rosary, rose, rostral column, row, rub out, ruin, run, run against, run counter to, sable, sabotage, sacred relics, sacring bell, sail, sail round, sail the sea, saltire, sambo, scaffold, school ring, scotch, scull, scutcheon, sea of troubles, seafare, seal, secant, sell, sell out, shaft, shamrock, shield, shillelagh, shirty, shofar, shoot ahead of, short-tempered, shrine, sideways, sidewise, sigil, sigillography, sign manual, signature, signet, skull and crossbones, snappish, sore, sorrow, span, sphragistics, spike, spiteful, spleeny, splenetic, split, spoil, spread eagle, staff, stake, stave, steam, steamboat, stela, step over, stick, stone, stonewall, straddle, stress, stress of life, strike out, stump, stupa, subordinary, subscription, sukkah, surly, swagger stick, swanking stick, swastika, swim upstream, tabernacle, tablet, take a voyage, take back, take issue with, tallith, tangelo, tantalize, tartan, tau, tease, tenne, testimonial, testy, tetchy, the chair, thistle, thorn, thurible, thwart, thwartly, thwartways, ticked off, tie, tigon, tincture, tomb, tombstone, tope, torse, touchy, transversal, transverse, transversely, traverse, tree, trefled cross, tressure, trial, tribulation, trophy, trouble, troubles, ugly, uncongenial, uncooperative, unfavorable, unfriendly, unharmonious, unicorn, uniform, unpropitious, up in arms, upset, urceole, vair, vale of tears, variant, verge, veronica, vert, vexed, vicissitude, vigil light, visa, vise, visitation, voided cross, vote against, votive candle, voyage, walking stick, wand, waspish, waters of bitterness, weight, white elephant, wipe out, with crossed bayonets, withstand, woe, work against, worked up, wrathful, wrathy, wreath, wroth, wrought-up, x-shaped, yacht, yale, zebrass, zebrule