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Webster 1913 Edition

Cross

Cross

(krŏs; 115)
,
Noun.
[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.
Shakespeare
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.
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
Cross bottoné
.
See under
Bottony
.
–
Cross estoilé
(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.

Cross

(krŏs)
,
Adj.
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
.
Syn. – Fretful; peevish. See
Fretful
.

Cross

,
p
rep.
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.]

Cross

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Crossed
(krŏst; 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.
Shakespeare
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.
Shakespeare
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.

Cross

,
Verb.
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.

Webster 1828 Edition

Cross

CROSS

,
Noun.
[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

,
Adj.
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

,
Verb.
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.

Definition 2024

Cross

Cross

See also: cross, crôs, cross-, and cros

English

Proper noun

Cross

  1. A topographic surname​ for someone who lived near a stone cross on a road

See also

cross

cross

See also: Cross, crôs, and cross-

English

Noun

cross ‎(plural crosses)

The cross on a Rubik's Cube
  1. A geometrical figure consisting of two straight lines or bars intersecting each other such that at least one of them is bisected by the other.
    Put a cross for a wrong answer and a tick for a right one.
  2. (heraldry) Any geometric figure having this or a similar shape, such as a cross of Lorraine or a Maltese cross.
  3. A wooden post with a perpendicular beam attached and used (especially in the Roman Empire) to execute criminals (by crucifixion).
    Criminals were commonly executed on a wooden cross.
  4. (usually with the) The cross on which Christ was crucified.
  5. (Christianity) A hand gesture made in imitation of the shape of the Cross.
    She made the cross after swearing.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      Before the cross has waned the crescent's ray.
    • Cowper
      'Tis where the cross is preached.
  6. (Christianity) A modified representation of the crucifixion stake, worn as jewellery or displayed as a symbol of religious devotion.
    She was wearing a cross on her necklace.
  7. (figurative, from Christ's bearing of the cross) A difficult situation that must be endured.
    It's a cross I must bear.
    • Ben Jonson
      Heaven prepares a good man with crosses.
  8. The act of going across; the act of passing from one side to the other
    A quick cross of the road.
  9. (biology) An animal or plant produced by crossbreeding or cross-fertilization.
  10. (by extension) A hybrid of any kind.
    • Lord Dufferin
      Toning down the ancient Viking into a sort of a cross between Paul Jones and Jeremy Diddler
  11. (boxing) A hook thrown over the opponent's punch.
  12. (soccer) A pass in which the ball travels from by one touchline across the pitch.
    • 2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:
      And Stamford Bridge erupted with joy as Florent Malouda slotted in a cross from Drogba, who had stayed just onside.
  13. A place where roads intersect and lead off in four directions; a crossroad (common in UK and Irish place names such as Gerrards Cross).
  14. A monument that marks such a place. (Also common in UK or Irish place names such as Charing Cross)
  15. (obsolete) A coin stamped with the figure of a cross, or that side of such a piece on which the cross is stamped; hence, money in general.
    • Shakespeare
      I should bear no cross if I did bear you; for I think you have no money in your purse.
  16. (obsolete, Ireland) Church lands.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir J. Davies to this entry?)
  17. A line drawn across or through another line.
  18. (surveying) An instrument for laying of offsets perpendicular to the main course.
  19. A pipe-fitting with four branches whose axes usually form a right angle.
  20. (Rubik's Cube) Four edge cubies of one side that are in their right places, forming the shape of a cross.

Synonyms

  • (production of cross-breeding or -fertilization): hybrid
  • (cross on which Christ was crucified): True Cross

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

wooden post with a perpendicular beam, used for crucifixion

Adjective

cross ‎(comparative crosser, superlative crossest)

  1. Transverse; lying across the main direction.
    At the end of each row were cross benches which linked the rows.
    • Isaac Newton
      the cross refraction of the second prism
  2. (archaic) Opposite, opposed to.
    His actions were perversely cross to his own happiness.
  3. (now rare) Opposing, adverse; being contrary to what one would hope or wish for.
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York Review of Books, 2001, p.50:
      As a fat body is more subject to diseases, so are rich men to absurdities and fooleries, to many casualties and cross inconveniences.
    • Jeremy Taylor
      a cross fortune
    • Glanvill
      the cross and unlucky issue of my design
    • South
      The article of the resurrection seems to lie marvellously cross to the common experience of mankind.
    • Dryden
      We are both love's captives, but with fates so cross, / One must be happy by the other's loss.
  4. Bad-tempered, angry, annoyed.
    She was rather cross about missing her train on the first day of the job.
    Please don't get cross at me. (or) Please don't get cross with me.
    • Jeremy Taylor
      He had received a cross answer from his mistress.
  5. Made in an opposite direction, or an inverse relation; mutually inverse; interchanged.
    cross interrogatories
    cross marriages, as when a brother and sister marry persons standing in the same relation to each other

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Preposition

cross

  1. (archaic) across
    She walked cross the mountains.
    • L'Estrange
      A fox was taking a walk one night cross a village.
  2. cross product of the previous vector and the following vector.
    The Lorentz force is q times v cross B.

Related terms

Translations

Verb

cross ‎(third-person singular simple present crosses, present participle crossing, simple past and past participle crossed)

  1. To make or form a cross.
    1. To place across or athwart; to cause to intersect.
      She frowned and crossed her arms.‎
    2. To lay or draw something across, such as a line.
      to cross the letter t‎
    3. To mark with an X.
      Cross the box which applies to you.‎
    4. To write lines at right angles.W
      • 1977, Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, Part I, chapter4:
        An indulgent playmate, Grannie would lay aside the long scratchy-looking letter she was writing (heavily crossed ‘to save notepaper’) and enter into the delightful pastime of ‘a chicken from Mr Whiteley's’.
    5. (reflexive, to cross oneself) To make the sign of the cross over oneself.
  2. To move relatively.
    1. (transitive) To go from one side of (something) to the other.
      Why did the chicken cross the road?‎
      You need to cross the street at the lights.‎
      • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 8, in The Celebrity:
        Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet: or anon we shot into a clearing, with a colored glimpse of the lake and its curving shore far below us.
      • 2012 June 19, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport:
        Ukraine, however, will complain long and hard about a contentious second-half incident when Marko Devic's shot clearly crossed the line before it was scrambled away by John Terry, only for the officials to remain unmoved.
    2. (intransitive) To travel in a direction or path that will intersect with that of another.
      Ships crossing from starboard have right-of-way.‎
    3. (transitive) To pass, as objects going in an opposite direction at the same time.
    4. (sports) Relative movement by a player or of players.
      1. (cricket, reciprocally) Of both batsmen, to pass each other when running between the wickets in order to score runs.
      2. (soccer) To pass the ball from one side of the pitch to the other side.
        He crossed the ball into the penalty area.‎
      3. (rugby) To score a try.
        • 2011 February 12, Mark Orlovac, “England 59-13 Italy”, in BBC:
          England cut loose at the end of the half, Ashton, Mark Cueto and Mike Tindall all crossing before the break.
  3. (social) To oppose.
    1. (transitive) To contradict (another) or frustrate the plans of.
      "You'll rue the day you tried to cross me, Tom Hero!" bellowed the villain.‎
    2. (transitive, obsolete) To interfere and cut off; to debar.
    3. (law) To conduct a cross examination; to question a hostile witness.
  4. (biology) To cross-fertilize or crossbreed.
    They managed to cross a sheep with a goat.‎
  5. To stamp or mark a cheque in such a way as to prevent it being cashed, thus requiring it to be deposited into a bank account.

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

French

Etymology

From English

Noun

cross m ‎(uncountable)

  1. cross-country (sport)

Italian

Etymology

From English

Noun

cross m ‎(invariable)

  1. motocross
  2. cross (boxing punch, tennis shot)
  3. slice (golf shot)

Derived terms

Etymology

From Middle English cross, cros, from Old English cros ‎(“rood, cross”), from Old Norse kross ‎(“cross”), perhaps from Old Irish cros (compare Welsh croes, Gaelic crois), from Latin crux (cruci). Cognate with Icelandic kross ‎(“cross”), Danish kors ‎(“cross”), Swedish kors ‎(“cross”). Displaced native Middle English rood ‎(“rood, cross”), from Old English rōd ‎(“cross, rood, crucifix, pole”); see rood. The sense of "two intersecting lines drawn or cut on a surface; two lines intersecting at right angles" without regard to religious signification develops from the late 14th century.

Pronunciation

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