| 释义 |
▪ I. cross, n.|krɒs, krɔːs|
Also crois, croice; corse: see below.
[English has had several types of this word, derived by different channels from L. cruc-em (nom. crux, in late L. crucis, It. croce, Pr. crotz, Sp. cruz, OF. cruiz, croiz, later crois). The native name was OE. ród, rood; but in late OE. the L. word appears to have been adopted in the form crúc (with final c palatalized, according to Italian pronunciation), whence ME. crūche, crouche. At a date perhaps earlier, the form cros appeared in the N. and E. of England, being app. the Norse kross, adopted from OIrish cros (pl. crosa), ad. L. cruc-em. In OE., cros is known only in local nomenclature, as Normannes cros; cf. such northern place-names as Crosby, Crosthwaite, etc.; according to Wace (c 1175) Olicrosse! (= háliᵹ cros), referring app. to the Holy Rood of Waltham, was the battle-cry of Harold at Hastings. After the Conquest, the OF. croiz, crois was introduced as croiz, crois, croys, later croice, and in early ME. southern writers was the more frequent form; but it became obs. in the 15th c., leaving the northern cros (crosse, cross) as the surviving type. The later Norse (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish) kors appears in Scotland and Northumbria as corse, cors, corss, and still lingers in Scotland both in proper names (e.g. Corserig, Corstorphine, etc.) and dialect speech.
Although cros, croice, corse, might, in view of their immediate derivation, be treated as distinct words, it is most convenient in tracing the sense-development to deal with them together: crouch is treated separately.]
A. Forms. (α) 1–6 cros, 4–7 crosse, (4–5 croos, 4–7 croce, 5–6 crose), 5– cross.
963–84Recd. of Gifts of Bp. Aðelwold to Medeshamstede in Birch Cartul. Saxon. III. 367 Of þam twam hundredum þe secæð into Normannes cros man aᵹeaf, etc. c1175Wace Roman de Rou 13, 119 Olicrosse sovent crioent..Olicrosse est en engleiz Ke Sainte Croix est en franceiz. c1205Lay. 31386 He lette sone arere a muchel cros and mare. a1300Cursor M. 21637 (Cott.) Meracles o þe cros [F. crossis, G. crois, E. croicis] might. a1340Hampole Psalter xvi. 12 In þe crosse hyngand. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 109 Þe peple cryde, Do him on þe croos. 1382― Phil. ii. 8 The deeth of cross [many MSS. the cros]. 1588A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 189 The deathe of the croce. 1611Bible John xix. 25 Stood by the crosse of Iesus. 1654J. Nicoll Diary (1836) 125 At the Mercat Croce of Edinburgh. 1685Evelyn Diary 16 Sept., The true Crosse.
(β) 3–4 croiz, croyz, creoiz, creoice, creoix, 4–5 (6 Sc.) crois, croys, croyce, croice.
a1225Ancr. R. 18 A large creoiz. Ibid. 46 And þeonne vour creoices. Ibid. 346 Ualleð..a creoix. c1275O.E. Misc. 50 Lyht adun of þe croyz. a1300Leg. Rood 34 And boþe croys [c 1350 Þe twey croyses] eke þer-wiþ. a1300Cursor M. 21792 (Cott.) Beside þe crois [v.r. croice, cros, croz]. c1300Beket 1884 With croiz and with tapres. c1394P. Pl. Crede 805, & on þe crois dyede. 1413Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle iv. xx. (1483) 67 He hanged..vpon the croys. c1450Mirour Saluacioun 2491 How crist bere..the croice.
(γ) 5–6 cors, 5–7 corss, (6 corsz, corce), 5– corse.
c1425Wyntoun Chron. v. x. 78 (Jam.) Elane that syne fand the Cors. c1470Henry Wallace ii. 22 Wallace..ȝeid to the merkat cors. 1533Gau Richt Vay 29 The wisdome of the corsz. Ibid. 44 Apone the cors. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 363 (title) How Sanct Andro apperit, and of his Cors in the air. Ibid. Sanct Androis corce. Ibid. Quhat that corss suld mene. 1615Corss [see 13]. 1786Burns To J. Kennedy i, Mauchline corse. 1813Corse [see 7 c].
B. Signification.
I. The instrument of crucifixion with its representations and fig. applications.
1. A kind of gibbet used by the ancients (and in later times by some non-Christian nations); a stake, generally with a transverse bar, on which they put to a cruel and ignominious death certain criminals, who were nailed or otherwise fastened to it by their extremities.
The general sense does not appear in Eng. so early as the specific (2), being mostly of modern occurrence in works on Ancient History: but early mention of the cross occurs also in Christian Martyrology and Saints' Lives. In the Vulgate crux is applied widely to any gibbet or gallows on which malefactors were hung, and is there also literally rendered cros, crosse by Wyclif.
a1300Cursor M. 21533 (Cott.) He fand tua crosses [v.r. croices]. 1382Wyclif Gen. xl. 19 Pharao shal..honge thee in the crosse. ― Esther v. 15 Aman..comaundide to be maad redi an heiȝ cros. 1460J. Capgrave Chron. (1858) 60 Andrew was..martired on a crosse. 1483Cath. Angl. 84 To do on Crosse, crucifigere. 1741Earl of Hardwicke in Athenian Lett. (1792) II. 115 Apollonides the physician was condemned to the cross, and executed just before we left Susa. 1827Heber Hymn, ‘The Son of God’, Twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew, And mock'd the cross and flame. 1844Thirlwall Greece VIII. 205 The body of Cleomenes was flayed and hung on a cross.
2. spec.
a. The particular wooden structure on which Jesus Christ suffered death, believed to have consisted of an upright post, with a horizontal crossbar; the holy rood. (Often written with capital C.)
The identical cross is believed by large bodies of Christians to have been found buried in the ground, by Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, in 326; hence, the legend of its finding or invention, the adoration of the fragments of it, and stories of miracles wrought by it, play an important part in the religious literature of the Middle Ages. In this connexion the word is often qualified as holy, real, true, Saint Cross. Stations, way of the Cross: see station, way. The antecedent history of this sense in English is found under the earlier name rood.
c1275O.E. Misc. 48 Do a rode! do a rode! Ibid. 50 Lyht adun of þe croyz. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 3/78 Huy founden roden þreo..Þo nusten huy of þe þreo þo holie croyz þat huy souȝten ȝwich it miȝte beo. a1300Cursor M. 8507 (Cott.) Þe croce [F., T. cros, G. crois] O ihesu crist. a1340Hampole Psalter xxi. 1 Crist..when he hyngid on þe crosse. c1386Chaucer Pard. T. 623 By the croys [so 2 MSS., 3 cros, 2 crosse] which þat seint Eleyne fond. 1470–85Malory Arthur xxi. vii, Somme men say..that kyng Arthur..shal come ageyn & he shal wynne the holy crosse. 1535Coverdale John xix. 19 Pilate wrote a superscripcion and set vpon the crosse. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. i. 26 Those blessed feete..nail'd on the bitter Crosse. 1685Evelyn Diary 16 Sept., A little fragment, as was thought, of the true Crosse. 1782Priestley Corrupt. Chr. I. iv. 387 Images..according to the form of the venerable cross. 1844E. Warburton Crescent & Cross xxii. (1859) 239 The hole in the rock where the Cross stood. 1867Bp. Forbes Expl. 39 Art. xxxi. (1881) 616 On the Cross, the full satisfaction was paid.
†b. by (God's) cross, as an oath. Obs.
c1420Anturs of Arth. viii, These knyȝtes are vn-curtas, by cros, and by crede! 1575J. Still Gammer Gurton v. ii, Else had my hens be stol'n..by Gods cross.
†c. A prayer used in the adoration of the cross. Obs.
a1225Ancr. R. 28 Seie sumne oðer of ðe creoiz.
3. a. The sign of the cross made with the right hand, as a religious act.
a1225Leg. Kath. 728 Heo wið Cristes cros cruchede hire ouer al. a1225Ancr. R. 18 Makieð on ower muþe mit te þume a creoiz. a1300Cursor M. 18338 (Cott.) Þe lauerd lift hand..And on adam a croice he made. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 781 Þe childe a crosse þar on made. 1548–9(Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Baptisme, Then he shall make a crosse upon the childes forehead and breste. 1816Scott Harold v. xvii, He sign'd the cross divine. 1861Sir H. W. Baker Hymn, ‘'Tis done; that new and heavenly birth’ ii, 'Tis done; the Cross upon the brow Is marked for weal or sorrow now.
b. The full expression, sign of the cross, is now usual.
c1315Shoreham 15 Ich signi the with signe of croys, And with the creme of hele Confermi. 1470–85Malory Arthur xiv. ix, He made a sygne of the crosse in his forhede. 1548–9(Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Baptisme, Receyue the signe of the holy Crosse. 1645Evelyn Diary May, In the Greek Church they made the signe of the Crosse from the right hand to the left; contrary to the Latines and the Schismatic Greekes. 1857Mrs. Gatty Parables from Nat. Ser. ii. (1868) 23 If it had not thundered, the peasant had not made the sign of the cross.
†c. to fall on cross, a cross, [= MHG. an ein crütze vallen]: to fall cross-wise with outstretched arms, in supplication. Obs.
a1225Ancr. R. 346 Ualleð biuoren ower weoued a creoix to þer eorðe. c1330Arth. & Merl. 7315 Fel on croice..And seyd sir for Godes gras, Thine help.
4. a. A representation or delineation of a cross on any surface, varying in elaborateness from two lines crossing each other to an ornamental design painted, embroidered, carved, etc.; used as a sacred mark, symbol, badge, or the like.
a1225Ancr. R. 50 Þe cloð in ham [the windows] beo twouold: blac cloð; þe creoiz hwit wiðinnen & wiðuten..Þus bitockneð hwit croiz þe ward of hwit chastite. a1300Cursor M. 21678 (Cott.) O þat blisced lambs blod A cros was mad in signe o rode. 1470–85Malory Arthur xiii. xi, Therupon that sheld he made a crosse of his owne blood. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 266 Forbad also in paithment or in streit To mak ane cors quhair men ȝeid on thair feit. 1591Spenser M. Hubberd 195 In a blew jacket with a crosse of redd. 1645Evelyn Diary 15 Feb., Shut up with broad stones, and now and then a crosse or a palme cut in them. 1700J. Jackson 24 Apr. in Pepys' Diary & Corr. (1879) VI. 218 His [the Pope's] slipper of crimson velvet, with a gold cross embroidered upon it. 1823Lockhart Anc. Sp. Ball., Dragut i, The cross upon yon banner..It is the sign of victory—the cross of the Maltese. 1871Morley Voltaire (1886) 344 To write letters to his episcopal foe, signed with a cross and his name: ‘+ Voltaire, Capucin indigne’.
†b. cross of Christ, also croscrist: the cross prefixed to the alphabet or crossrow; the alphabet itself as the first step in learning. Obs.
c1450Bk. Curtasye 144 in Babees Bk. 303 This lessoun schalle þy maistur þe merke Croscrist þe spede in alle þi werke. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 290 To turne agayne to theyr A. B. C. and lerne the crosse of Chryst agayne.
c. to take († fong or nim) the cross: to accept the sign or badge of a cross in ratification of a vow, to engage in a crusade.
For the history of this see croise v.
c1290Beket 7 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 106 Gilbert Bekat..him bi-þouȝte þe Croiz for-to fo In-to þe holie land. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 346 Roberd duc of Normandye þe croys nom atten ende, And ȝarked hym wyþ oþere to þe holylonde to wende. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 226 Sir Edward toke the croice, for his fader to go. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 80 Baldwyn..preached, and exhorted men to take the Crosse. 1882Freeman Reign Will. Rufus I. iv. §6. 562 Bohemond took the cross, and rent up a goodly cloak into crosses for his followers.
5. A model or figure of a cross as a religious emblem, set up in the open air or within a building, worn round the neck, etc.
c1205Lay. 31386 He lette sone arere a muchel cros and snare. 1470–85Malory Arthur xvii. xv, One helde a candel of waxe brennyng and the other held a crosse. 1501Bury Wills (1850) 88, I bequeth to the parson of Berkhamstede a Seynt Antony crosse. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 801 The Byshops delivered to the king..the Ball with the Crosse in his left hande. 1648Ord. 29 Aug. in Scobell Acts & Ord. (1658) i. cxviii. 175 Worshippers of Images, Crosses, Crucifixes, or Reliques. 1878Edith Thompson Hist. Eng. iii. 16 At..Heavenfield..Oswald set up a wooden cross—the first Christian sign reared in Bernicia.
6. A staff surmounted by the figure of a cross, borne in religious processions, and esp. as an emblem of office before an archbishop.
c1290Beket 1848 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 159 Seint Thomas..to Caunterburi him drouȝ..With croyz and with taperes þe contreie a-ȝein him drouȝ. 1460J. Capgrave Chron. 134 Prelatis, with here crosses and croses. c1465Eng. Chron. (Camden 1856) 94 Thomas Bourchier archebysshop of Caunterbury..wythe hys crosse before hym, went forthe..toward Londoun. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 75 A great contention arose..whether the Archebishop of Yorke might beare his Crosse in the Diocesse of Cauntorbury or no. 1645Evelyn Diary 11 Apr., Some of the religious orders and fraternities sung..the lights and crosses going before. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles ii. xxii, With many a torch-bearer before, And many a cross behind. 1849Rock Ch. of Fathers II. 232 An archbishop is seen figured leaning on the staff of his cross.
7. a. A monument in the form of a cross, or having a cross upon it, erected in places of resort, at crossways, etc., for devotional purposes, or as a devout or solemn memorial of some event, as a grave-stone, and the like.
Often also serving to indicate a preaching or meeting place, and qualified as market-, preaching-, weeping-cross, for which see these words.
c1420Sir Amadace xxx, Quen he come sex mile the citè fro, A crosse partut the way a-toe. 1470–85Malory Arthur iv. v, He..rode longe in a forest tyll they came to a crosse, and there alyȝt and sayd his prayers deuoutely. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 677 Into Stanemure ane cors of stane wes set, Quhair the merchis of thir tua kingis met. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. v. i. 31 She doth stray about By holy crosses where she kneeles and prayes For happy wedlocke houres. 1643Evelyn Diary Nov., In the way were faire crosses of stone carv'd with fleurs de lys at every furlong's end. 1851D. Wilson Preh. Ann. II. iv. iv. 283 Memorial crosses, graven with inscriptions in the Northern Runes.
b. spec. The monument of this kind occupying a central position in a town or village, formerly used as a centre for markets, meetings, proclamations, etc.; a market-cross.
c1465Eng. Chron. (Camden 1856) 75 [Bp. Pocock] vtterly abiured, reuoked, and renounced the sayde articles opynly at Powles Crosse. 1553Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 80 The xix. day of [July]..was proclamyd lady Ma[ry to] be qwene of Ynglond at the crose in Cheppe. 1554Chron. Q. Mary (Camden 1850) 78 Ther preched at Poles crosse one doctour Watson. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. i. 137 To be whipt at the hie crosse euerie morning. 1611Cotgr. s.v. Sing, Thou hast not cried it at the crosse. 1702Lond. Gaz. 3869/3 The Mayor and all the Company went..to the two Crosses, where Bonfires were prepared. 1786Burns To J. Kennedy i, If foot or horse E'er bring you in by Mauchline Corse. 1829Scott Rob Roy Introd., Birrell..reports that he was hanged at the Cross. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 480 The newly elected members went in state to the City Cross.
c. A market-place, market. Now only local.
1577Harrison England ii. xviii. (1877) I. 298 They begin to sell..by the bushell or two..therby to be seene to keepe the crosse. 1587Ibid. 300 The crosses sufficientlie furnished of all things. 1724Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 61 When ye gae to the cross then..Buy me a pacing horse then. 1813Picken Poems I. 906 (Jam.) The cadies rang'd about the Corse For messages ay ready.
8. fig. Used as the ensign and symbol of Christianity; the Christian religion, esp. when opposed to other religions. (In later use it becomes more fig., as in messenger, preacher, servant of the cross: cf. next.)
soldier, warrior of the Cross: a crusader; hence fig. one actively zealous for the advancement of Christianity.
c1325Poem Times Edw. II, 249 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 334 Hii sholde gon to the Holi Lond..And fihte there for the croiz. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, iv. i. 94 Streaming the Ensigne of the Christian Crosse, Against black Pagans, Turkes, and Saracens. 1659B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 81 Let us now take leave of the Countries, of the Half Moon..and return..into those of the Crosse. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) II. 199 Constantine, in acknowledgment of his signal victory obtained by the cross, was baptized on this spot. 1812Byron Ch. Har. i. xxxv, Red gleam'd the cross, and waned the crescent pale. 1830J. B. Waterbury Hymn, Soldiers of the Cross, arise. 1892Q. Rev. Jan. 61 A Sufi..is, by profession, tolerant or even sympathetic in the presence of the Cross.
9. fig. The crucifixion and death of Christ as the culmination of His redemptive mission, and the central fact of the Christian religion; the atonement wrought on the cross.
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 45 By þyn holy crois þu hast aȝen bouȝt þe world. 1382― 1 Cor. i. 18 For the word of the cros is folye sothli to men perischinge. 1549Bk. Com. Prayer, Litany, By thy crosse and passion..Good lorde deliuer us. 1603Const. & Canons Eccles. No. 30. 1611 Bible 1 Cor. i. 18 The preaching of the Crosse. 1782Cowper Progr. Err. 622 The Cross once seen is death to every vice. 1845G. A. Poole Churches iv. 27 The doctrine of the cross, as the one great rule and hope of the world. 1891T. Mozley The Son xxxvii. 232 Rome, which insists more on the cross than on the divine character, the divine life, and the divine teaching.
10. a. A trial or affliction viewed in its Christian aspect, to be borne for Christ's sake with Christian patience; often in phr. to bear, take one's cross, with reference to Matt. x. 38, xvi. 24, etc.
1382Wyclif Matt. x. 38 He that takith nat his crosse, and sueth me, is not worthi of me. 1528Tindale Obed. Chr. Man Doctr. Treat. (Parker Soc.) 310 Mark what a cross God suffered to fall on the neck of his elect Jacob. 1550Crowley Last Trump 62 Though thou shouldest perishe for fode, yet beare thou thy crosse patientlie. 1644–5Direct. Publ. Prayer in Scobell Acts & Ord. (1658) i. li. 79 To pray for..the sanctified use of blessings and crosses. 1669Penn (title), No Cross no Crown; a Discourse shewing..that the..daily bearing of Christ's Cross, is the alone way to the rest and kingdom of God. 1779Cowper Olney Hymns xxviii, We learn our lighter cross to bear. 1920A. Huxley Limbo 184 You must try and be strong and bear it bravely. We all have our cross to bear. 1963A. Heron Towards Quaker View of Sex iv. 40 They must practise self-denial and ‘bear their cross’.
b. In a general sense: A trouble, vexation, annoyance; misfortune, adversity; sometimes (under the influence of the verb) anything that thwarts or crosses. Cf. sense 27.
1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 17 To banish house of blasphemie, least crosses crosse vnluckelie. 1580Sidney (J.), Wishing unto me many crosses and mischances in my love, whensoever I should love. 1614Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 120 Crosses, after the nature of the Cockatrice, die if they be forseene. 1649― Cases Consc. (1650) 224 Camillus..wished some great crosse might befall Rome for the tempering of so high a felicity. 1693Mem. Cnt. Teckely iv. 10 If it has met with some Crosses of Fortune, it is not in a danger for all that to be overthrown. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull iii. x, After all his losses and crosses. 1853C. Brontë Villette xxxvii, Doubtless they knew crosses, disappointments, difficulties. 1866Mrs. H. Wood St. Martin's Eve iii. (1874) 19 Her usual crosses had been but light ones, which she scolded or talked away.
II. Any figure or object of this shape.
11. a. Any object, figure, or mark of the same shape as the instrument of crucifixion, i.e. of two bars or lines crossing each other, used as a sign, ornament, etc. † cross in the hands: a finger-post.
For the various kinds of crosses, see sense 18.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 294 Wiþ an hoot iren make a cros upon þe middil of þe passioun as depe as þe deed fleisch is. 1547in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. iii. 161 Euerye howseholder..whych..hath bein vysyted with the plage.. shall cause to be fyxed..a certein Crosse of saynt Anthonye devysed for that purpose, etc. 1563Fulke Meteors (1640) 45 Raynebowes..crosses, and divers lights..by divers refractions and reflections of beames. 1626Bacon Sylva §494 They make a little Cross of a Quill. 1643Evelyn Diary 24 Dec., The body of the Church formes a Crosse. 1762Foote Orator 1, A cross in the hands, with letters to direct you on your road. 1771― Maid of B. 1, Pushing forth his fingers like a cross in the hands to point out the different roads on a common. 1776Withering Brit. Plants (1796) I. 296, 4 petals, forming a cross. 1828Jane Seaton ix. (ed. 2) 61 Her only ornament, a golden chain with a Cornelian Cross attached to it.
b. A similar mark or sign of small size used to mark a passage in a book, etc.; a mark made, in place of his signature, by one who cannot write.
In the latter case originally belonging to 4.
c1391Chaucer Astrol. i. §5 The whiche lyne, from a lityl croys + in the bordure vn-to the centre of the large hole. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 36 Now will I make a crosse on this gate. 1588J. Mellis Briefe Instr. F ij b, In the margent..yee shall set a crosse + which signifieth the error to rectify in the proper place. 1687W. Sherwin in Magd. Coll. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) 225 Charnock..crossed all their names. They..struck off their crosses. 1853Lytton My Novel v. ix, He sate..with his steel-pen in his hand, and making crosses here and notes of interrogation there.
c. A natural cross-shaped marking.
1824T. Bewick Hist. Quadrupeds (ed. 8) 239 It has the Mule-cross on the withers like most of the Barbary Caracals. 1855Wood Anim. Life (ed. 2) 420 There is also a black mark running along the spine, and another crossing the shoulders, the two forming a cross.
12. A constellation within the Antarctic Circle, in which four bright stars are arranged somewhat in the figure of a cross; more fully Southern Cross.
1555Eden Decades 239 The starres cauled the Crosse, are seene very hyghe. Ibid. 253. 1594 Blundevil Exerc. iv. xix. (ed. 7) 473 There are lately found out..foure other Images towards the South Pole, as the Crosse or Crosier, the South Triangle. 1671Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. (1711) 48 A small black Cloud, which the foot of the Cross is in. 1700S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 353 We saw again the Northern Star to our great Joy; till then we had only the Southern Cross in sight. 1868Lockyer Heavens (ed. 3) 333 The Southern cross—the pole-star of the South. 1892R. Kipling Barrack-room Ballads, Eng. Flag ix, Where the lone wave fills with fire beneath the Southern Cross.
13. Formerly in Scotland: A signal (app. orig. a cross formed of two sticks charred and dipped in blood) sent through the district to summon the inhabitants: see crostarie, fire or fiery cross.
1615Act Bailiary in Barry Orkney (1805) App. 458 (Jam.) Ilk house and family shall carefully and diligently direct the corss..to his next neighbours, with ane sufficient bearer, for admonishing the people..to conveen. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1871) I. v. 269 The mysterious cross of yew, first set on fire, and then quenched in the blood of a goat, was sent forth to summon all the Campbells, from sixteen to sixty.
14. a. A part of an anchor, hinge, or other object, which occupies a position transverse to the main part. †b. The cross-piece dividing the blade of a sword, etc. from the hilt, and serving as a guard to the hand; the cross-guard. Obs.
1470–85Malory Arthur ix. xxxix, Kynge Marke..kneled adoune and made his othe vpon the crosse of the suerd. c1477Caxton Jason 102 b, His swerde..into the paunche of the dragon up to the crosse. 1590Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 4 Short arming Daggers of convenient forme and substance, without hilts, or with little short crosses. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 18 When the Joint..on the Tail, is pind in the Joint..in the Cross, the whole Hinge is called a Cross-Garnet. 1709Lond. Gaz. No. 4570/4 Lost..a piece of Anchor, being the Cross and a peice of the Shank.
†15. The transept or cross aisle of a cruciform church. Obs.
1658Dugdale St. Paul's 160 And afterwards bestowed four thousands pounds in repairing of the South Cross. 1702Lond. Gaz. No. 3804/2 The House of Commons were seated..in the North Cross of the Abbey.
16. A surveyor's instrument; a cross-staff.
1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. ii. xiii. 81 Taking off one of the Crosses, and setting the Staff again. 1807Hutton Course Math. II. 56 The cross consists of two pair of sights set at right angles to each other, on a staff having a sharp point at the bottom, to fix in the ground.
17. Horse-breaking. A ‘dumb jockey’ shaped like the letter X, buckled across the back of a young horse, and having the reins of the snaffle bridle fastened to it, to make him carry his head properly.
1833Reg. Instr. Cavalry i. 74 In order to bring the horse to..carry his head properly..the cross may be used.
III. In Heraldry, Insignia of Knighthood, Numismatics, etc.
18. a. Her., etc. A conventional representation of the Christian symbol, or some modification of it, or of two crossing bars, used as an ordinary or charge, as an ornamental figure in art, etc.
Numerous modifications of the form are recognized, some of them being used as religious symbols; the chief forms are Celtic cross: see Celtic a. 2; Greek cross, an upright cross with limbs of equal length; Latin cross, in which the lower limb is longer than the others; St. Andrew's cross, or cross saltier, a cross shaped like the letter Χ; cross of St. Anthony or tau cross, in which the transverse bar lies on the top of the upright, like the letter τ. Developments of these are the cross patée or formée, in which the limbs are very narrow where they are conjoined, and gradually expand, the whole forming nearly a square; Maltese cross, cross of Malta or cross of eight points, a modification of the preceding, in which the extremity of each limb is indented. Subordinate forms are cross crossed, a cross with each arm crossed, reaching the edges of the shield; cross of chains, a cross composed of four chains fixed to a central annulet; cross of four leaves: see quatrefoil; cross of Jerusalem, a cross having each arm capped by a cross-bar; cross of Lorraine, a cross with two horizontal arms, combining the Greek and Latin crosses; cross of St. Andrew: see above; spec. the saltier-cross of Scotland, white on a blue ground; cross of St. George, the Greek cross, red on a white ground, as used on the English flag; cross of St. James, a Latin cross figured as a sword; cross of St. Julian, a saltier cross having the arms crossed; cross of St. Patrick, the saltier cross of Ireland, red on a white ground; cross of Toulouse, a Maltese cross with a point projecting from each indentation; Buddhist cross, the gammadion or fylfot, {swast}; capital cross, a Greek cross having each extremity terminated in an ornament like a Tuscan capital; Capuchin cross, a cross having each arm terminated by a ball or disc; ansate c., cabled c., cross bezanty, flory, etc.: see these words.
1486Bk. St. Albans, Her. B iij b, Cros fixyly, Cros paty Cros croslettis and Cros flory. Ibid. C j a, The cros is the moost worthi signe emong al signys in armys. 1610J. Guillim Heraldry iv. i. (1660) 270 Called a Crosse-Avellane, from the resemblance it hath of a Philbert Nut. 1615Crooke Body of Man 350 [They] doe mutually intersect themselues in the manner of a Saint Andrewes crosse, or this letter X. 1654Ord. in Scobell Acts & Ord. ii. ix. (1658) 294 The Arms of Scotland, viz. a Cross, commonly called Saint Andrews Cross. 1702Lond. Gaz. No. 3840/2 A Flag with St. George's Cross was displaied on the Tower. 1797Holcroft Stolberg's Trav. (ed. 2) II. xlvi. 114 The long cross..has been called the Latin cross. 1844F. A. Paley Church Restorers 15 A cross pattée between four lions combatant. 1882Cussans Her. iv. 59 No Ordinary is subject to so many modifications of form as the Cross. Ibid. 60 Gwillim mentions thirty-nine different Crosses..and Robson no less than two-hundred and twenty-two.
b. per cross or in cross (Her.): in the form or figure of a cross.
1562Leigh Armorie (1579) 78 He beareth party per Crosse wauey Sable, and Argent. 1572J. Bossewell Armorie ii. 37 b, Verte, fiue fermaulx in Crosse. 1610J. Guillim Heraldry v. i. (1611) 238 He beareth parted per Crosse Gules and Argent.
19. A figure of the cross used as the ensign of a religious order of knights, as the Knights of Malta; hence widely adopted as a decoration in many orders of knighthood; also, a wearer of such a cross.
Grand († Great) Cross: a decoration of the highest class of such an order, or the person wearing it. Victoria Cross: a British decoration for members of the Army and Navy, instituted Feb. 5th, 1856, as a reward for personal valour.
1651Evelyn Diary 7 Sept., Crosses of the Order of the Holy Ghost. Ibid., The Chevalier Paul..his Malta Cross was esteem'd at 10,000 crounes. 1796Morse Amer. Geog. II. 444 Out of the 16 great crosses, the great master [of Knights of St. John] is elected. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 261 This prince had set his heart on some childish distinction, a title or a cross. 1887Daily News 16 July 5/3 He is a Grand Cross of St. Vladimir. 1889Whitaker's Alm. 97 The Most Honourable Order of the Bath..Military Knights Grand Cross. Ibid. 98 Civil Knights Grand Cross..Honorary Knights Grand Cross.
†20. Numism. The figure of a cross stamped upon one side of a coin; hence, a coin bearing this representation; a coin generally. Obs.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 239 Edward did smyte rounde peny, halfpeny, ferthyng..Þe kynges side salle be þe hede & his name writen. Þe croyce side what cite it was in coyned & smyten. a1420Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 685 The feende, men seyne, may hoppe in a pouche, Whan that no crosse therein may appeare. 1530Palsgr. 211/1, Crosse of coyne, la croix d'une piece d'argent. 1594Nashe Unfort. Trav. Wks. 1883–4 V. 34 His purse was..I thinke verily a puritane, for it kept it selfe from anie pollution of crosses. 1638Heywood Wise Woman i. i. Wks. 1874 V. 281 Ile play the Franck gamester..I will not leave my selfe one Crosse to blesse me. 1667Dryden Wild Gallant i. ii, I have not a cross at present. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxi, She has been here a fortnight, and we have not yet seen the cross of her money. Ibid., To come and take up an honest house, without cross or coin to bless yourself with. 1797Sporting Mag. IX. 312 Neither a bun to put in their belly, nor a cross to put in their pockets.
21. cross and (or) pile [F. croix et (ou) pile].
a. The obverse and (or) reverse side of a coin; head or tail; hence sometimes standing for: a coin, money. arch.
1393[see crouch n.1]. 1584R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. xiii. xxx. 277 How to know whether one cast crosse or pile by the ringing. 1618Fletcher Chances v. ii, Compel'd with crosse and pile to run of errands. 1698Sidney Disc. Govt. iii. §30 (1704) 362 He had neither cross nor pile. 1718J. Chamberlayne Relig. Philos. I. xvi. §16 If an equal Number of Pieces of Money were thrown up into the Air, the Chance of their falling Cross or Pile..would be equal. a1856Longfellow Friar Lubin ii, To mingle..The goods of others with his own, And leave you without cross or pile.
†b. fig. The two sides of anything; one thing and its opposite. Obs.
c1450Pol. Poems (1859) II. 240 Crosse and pyle standen in balaunce; Trowthe and resoun be no thynge stronge. a1613Overbury Newes, Countrey Newes Wks. (1856) 175 That good and ill is the crosse and pile in the ayme of life. 1663Cowley Cut. Colman St. v, I knew well enough 'twas you; what did you think I knew not Cross from Pile?
†c. ‘Head or tail’, i.e. ‘tossing up’ to decide a stake, or anything doubtful, by the side of a coin which falls uppermost; ‘pitch and toss’; fig. a matter of mere chance, a ‘toss-up’. (Usually with cast, throw, toss.) Obs.
[a1327Wardrobe Rolls Edw. II (Antiq. Repository II. 58), Item paie illoq a Henri Barber le Roi pour Denrs qu il a presta au Roi pur Jewer a cros a Pil de Donn v s.] 15971st Pt. Return fr. Parnass. ii. i. 768 Schoolmaister, cross or pile nowe for 4 counters? c1645Vox Turturis 23 They had a Custome, when buyer and seller could not agree, to..cast crosse and pile. 1672Wycherley Love in a Wood iii. ii, I'll throw up cross or pile who shall ask her. 1685Answ. to Dk. Buckhm. on Liberty of Consc. 36 Thirdly, whether it be not Cross and Pile, whether a man who may be of any and of all Religions, will be of any, or of none at all? 1709Steele Tatler No. 39 ⁋48 There will be no fear of foul Play, if they throw up Cross or Pile who should be shot. 1798T. Jefferson Writ. IV. 227 The question of war and peace depends now on a toss of cross and pile.
†d. fig. Pitch and toss. Obs.
1571Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1633) 134 Safer to sit, then upon an Irish Pillion that playeth cross and pile with the rider.
†e. advb. phr. By mere chance. Obs.
1648Herrick Hesper., Crosse and Pile, Faire and foule days trip crosse and pile; the faire Far lesse in number then our foule dayes are. a1712W. King Poems, Stumbling Block 50 The sceptics hypothetic cause..That cross or pile refin'd the chaos.
IV. Senses derived from cross a., v., adv.
†22.
a. A crossing or crossed position: hence the advb. phrase, on cross, o cross, a cross = crossed, crossing, crosswise: see across, cross adv. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 21693 (Cott.) He heild his hend on croice [Edin. MSS. o croice]. 1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. xxviii, From those ij. prickes erect two perpendiculars, which muste needes meet in crosse. 1555Eden Decades 351 They [stars of the S. Cross] are not ryght a croise in the mooneth of Nouember. 1642Disput. betw. Devill & Pope (Brand), A taylor must not sit with legs on crosse. 1659B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 54 The King..stood not with his arms a crosse.
b. on the cross: diagonally, obliquely across the texture, on the bias. (Cf. bias n. 1.)
1872Young Englishwoman Nov. 594/1 Bows of dark blue velvet cut on the cross. 1887[Baring-Gould] Golden Feather iv. 9 The piece of carnation velvet cut on the cross for trimming Jessamy's bonnet. 1955‘C. Brown’ Lost Girls x. 107 The skirt was cut on the cross. 1968J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 79 Garments cut on the cross or bias have ‘give’ as the bias is stretchy.
c. Theatr. A movement from one part of the stage to another in acting.
1838Actors by Daylight I. 214 He was..well versed in all the crosses and recrosses necessary to impose on the million. 1896G. B. Shaw Our Theatres in Nineties (1932) II. 129 At the end of each of his first vehement speeches, he strode right down the stage and across to the prompt side of the proscenium on the frankest barnstorming principles, repeating this absurd ‘cross’—a well-known convention of the booth for catching applause—three times.
d. Boxing. A blow that crosses over the opponent's lead. Also transf.
1906E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands xvii. 233 Ther revolvin' arm..got home a left lead 'n 'er right cross. 1938D. Runyon Take it Easy 26 What she lays on his brow is a beautiful straight right cross. 1950J. Dempsey Championship Fighting xxii. 144 The right cross, deadliest of all counter⁓punches, is used when a left-jabber becomes careless.
e. Assoc. Football. A cross-pass.
1961Times 29 Sept. 4/3 They quickly turned the screw, with three goals—by Pointer, side-footing in Douglas's cross. 1962Times 12 Mar. 3/2 Greaves failed to stroke home one of his crosses. 1968Listener 23 May 682/1 For a high cross a well-trained full-back..is good enough—though not for the kind of calculated low cross George Best engineered for Billy Foulkes's decisive goal against Real Madrid.
†23. Cross-measurement. Obs. rare.
1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commonw. 132 The Crosse of London is every way longer, than any you make in Paris..By this word Crosse, I meane, from Saint Georges in Southwark, to Shoreditch, South and North; and from Westminster to Whitechapell West and East.
24. The point where two lines or paths cross each other; a crossing, cross-way.
1546Bp. Gardiner Decl. Art. Joye xv, I..do the offyce of an hande, at a crosse, to saye this is the ryght waye. 1891G. Meredith One of our Conq. II. xii. 287 To drive two vessels at the cross of a track into collision.
25. Electr. The accidental contact of two lines or circuits so that a portion of the electric current is diverted or crosses from one to the other.
1870F. L. Pope Electr. Tel. v. (1872) 63 The effects of weather crosses usually manifest themselves upon the occurrence of a shower.
26. The writing or marking by which a cheque is crossed.
1876Ann. Reg. [51] The cross on the cheque did not restrain its negotiability.
27. fig. A crossing or thwarting: cf. also 10 b.
1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. ii. 4 Any barre, any crosse, any impediment, will be medicinable to me..How canst thou crosse this marriage? 1621–51Burton Anat. Mel. i. iii. i. ii. 187 If crossed, that cross, etc. 1873Dixon Two Queens IV. xix. vii. 40 Anne was suffering from a cross in love.
28. a. An intermixture of breeds or races in the production of an animal; an instance of cross-fertilization in plants.
1766Pennant Zool. (1768) I. 18 Improved by a cross with the foreign kind. 1819Byron Juan i. lviii, This heathenish cross restored the breed again. 1859All Year Round No. 29. 58 The Bakewell..sheep..is..a creature from a series of judicious crosses of divers long-woolled breeds.
b. An animal or plant, or a breed or race, due to crossing.
1760Phil. Trans. LI. 834 The bird..is an accidental cross, as we sportsmen term it, between a pheasant and turkey. 1834Medwin Angler in Wales I. 253 This little feather-legged bantam..is certainly a cross from the grouse. 1868Perthshire Jrnl. 18 June, The large stock of black cattle and crosses. 1871G. H. Napheys Prev. & Cure Dis. i. i. 47 The mulatto, a cross between it [the black race] and the white race.
c. fig. An instance of the mixture of the characteristics of two different individuals; something intermediate in character between two things.
c1796Miss Cranstoun in Lockhart Scott vii, Walter Scott is going to turn out a poet—something of a cross I think between Burns and Gray. 1852R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour xxii. 112 [He] was a cross between a military dandy and a squire. 1891Freeman Sk. French Trav. 125 The west front, a cross between Wells and Holyrood.
29. slang. That which is not fair and ‘square’: dishonest or fraudulent practices.
a cross: a contest or match lost by collusory arrangement between the principals; a swindle. on the cross: in a dishonest, fraudulent manner; to be or go on the cross: to be a thief, live by stealing. to shake the cross: to give up thieving.
1802Sessions' Paper June 334/2, I got it on..the cross. 1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Cross, illegal or dishonest practises in general are called the cross, in opposition to the square..Any article which has been irregularly obtained, is said to have been got upon the cross. 1829Chron. in Ann. Reg. 21/1 It was decided that it should be a decided ‘cross’.—That is, it was decided beforehand that the match was to be lost. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair lv, A conversation..about the fight between the Butcher and the Pet, and the probabilities that it was a cross. 1861H. Kingsley Ravenshoe lx, The young woman..may be on the cross. 1878Tinsley's Mag. XXIII. 300 Never to act on the square, but invariably on the cross. 1883‘Mark Twain’ Life on Mississippi lii, If I would shake the cross and live on the square for three months. 1889Boldrewood Robbery under Arms xii. (1890) 85 It's the hardest earned money of all, that's got on the cross. 1915A. Conan Doyle Valley of Fear ii. iii. 201 It's mum with me so long as I see you living on the straight..But, by gum, if you get off on the cross after this it's another story. 1917― His Last Bow viii. 293 There's a stool pigeon or a cross somewhere, and it's up to you to find out where it is.
V. Elliptical uses.
†30. Short for cross-sail, a square-sail. Obs.
1513Douglas æneis iv. viii. 21 Marynaris glaid layis thair schippis onder cros. Ibid. v. xiv. 3 Heis heich the cros.
31. Irish Hist. = cross-land.
1612Davies Why Ireland etc. (1787) 107 The King's writ did not run in those counties..but only in the church-lands lying within the same, which were called the Cross, wherein the King made a sheriff: and so, in each of these counties palatine there were two sheriffs, one of the Liberty, and another of the Cross. 1879J. R. O'Flanagan Munster Circuit 3 They could hear and determine all complaints throughout the province of Munster, and the crosses and liberties of Tipperary and Kerry.
VI. Comb. See cross- I. below.
▪ II. cross, v.|krɒs, krɔːs|
Pa. tense and pple. crossed, crost |krɒst, -ɔː-|.
[f. cross n.: cf. also croise v., and F. croiser, Ger. kreuzen.]
†1. trans. To crucify. Obs.
c1340Cursor M. 24354 (Fairf.) [He] þat crossed was, was al mi care. c1440Gesta Rom. lii. 232 (Harl. MS.) Now Criste is i-bounde, scorgide, ande crosside. c1550Cheke Matt. xxvi. 2 Y⊇ son of man schal be deliverd to be crossed. Ibid. xxvii. 30 Yei..caried him awai to be crossed.
2. a. To make the sign of the cross upon or over.
c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode i. xi. (1869) 8 Thilke shal also crosse thee. c1440J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. iv. 1318 The mayde..crossed hir hed, hir mowth and hir brest. 1547Boorde Brev. Health 4, I..weke of faith and afeard, crossed my selfe. 1548–9Bk. Com. Prayer, Confirmacion, Then the Bushop shall crosse them in the forehead. 1608Bp. Hall Char. Vertues & V. ii. 87 This man dares not stirre foorth till his brest be crossed, and his face sprinckled. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. vi. 121 They crossed it, and blessed it. 1827O. W. Roberts Narr. Voy. Centr. Amer. 228 He crossed himself, and expressed much surprise. 1867Whittier Tent on Beach, Brother of Mercy 73 The pale monk crossed His brow.
b. to cross a fortune-teller's hand with silver: to describe crossing lines on her hand with a silver coin given by the consulter: hence to give money to.
1711Addison Spect. No. 130 ⁋1 An honest Dairy-maid who crosses their Hands with a Piece of Silver every Summer. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. x. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 54 Crossing their hands with coin..How quak'd the young to hear what things they knew. 1838D. Jerrold Men of Char. I. 137 Every domestic..had crossed her [the fortune-teller's] hand and looked on future life.
†3.
a. To mark with a cross in sign of a vow; esp. of the vow to wrest the Holy Land from the Saracens; = croise 2. Obs.
1481Caxton Godfrey xvi, Whan one of the grete barons was croysed so on his sholdre..alle the peple of the contre that were also crossyd cam to hym, and chees hym for theyr captayne. 15..Coer de L. 2131 (from a printed copy) For he is crossed a pilgrim. 1610Bp. Carleton Jurisd. 210 The Souldiers which were crossed for the holy warres.
b. to cross one's heart, to make the sign of the cross over one's heart, to attest the truth or sincerity of a statement, promise, etc.; freq. in phr. cross my heart (and hope to die).
1908S. Ford Side-stepping with Shorty xx. 314, I wouldn't touched [sic] another thing; cross m' heart, I wouldn't! 1922‘K. Mansfield’ Garden Party 24 ‘Promise not to tell.’ They promised. ‘Say, cross my heart straight dinkum.’ 1926R. Macaulay Crewe Train x. 184 ‘Let's both swear.’ ‘Cross my heart and hope to die. Now what about bed?’ 1952A. Wilson Hemlock & After iii. 167 Cross her heart, might she die if she sneaked.
4. a. To cancel by marking with a cross or by drawing lines across; to strike out, erase. (lit. and fig.) Const. off, out.
[Cf.1472Paston Lett. No. 696 III. 47.] 1483Cath. Angl. 84 To Crosse, cancellare. c1515Everyman in Hazl. Dodsley I. 136, I cross out all this. c1600Day Begg. Bednall Gr. i. i, Heres my Bill, I pray see me crost. 1614Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 639 The debt is paid, the score is crossed. 1628W. Pemble Worthy Rec. Lord's Supper 43 To have gotten the debt-book crossed. 1813Southey Ballads, March to Moscow 8 And Krosnoff he cross'd them off. 1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. I. 151 Crossed out of the list of sights to be seen.
b. In College usage; see quots.
1576in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 380 Every suche person..shalbe dyscharged of the same house, and have hys hedd crossed heare. 1825C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 156, I move that we have him crossed in the buttery. 1865Cornh. Mag. Feb. 228 There is a very absurd punishment termed ‘crossing a man at the buttery’, which means that a ×is set against his name to prohibit the butler from serving him. 1884Weekly Reg. 18 Oct. 503/2 If you did not go he ‘crossed’ you, thereby cutting off all your supplies of food.
5. a. To lay (a thing) across or athwart another; to set (things) across each other; to place crosswise. Also, to place (one limb) over another.
to cross swords: to engage in fighting with swords; also fig. † to cross legs or cross shins (i.e. in wrestling; hence fig.).
c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxii. 471 He..layd hymselfe doun on a bed wyth his legges crossed. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 259 b, Whan he casteth the stole aboute his necke, and crosseth it before his brest. 1581Styward Mart. Discipl. ii. 110 If your battaile be assalted with horse, then couch and crosse your pikes. 1645Bp. Hall Remedy Discontents 148 We must meet with rubs; and perhaps crosse shinnes, and take fals too. 1653E. Chivenhale Cath. Hist. 476 He hath crossed legs with himself, and given himself the fall. 1751R. Paltock P. Wilkins xii, Thus I proceeded, crossing, joining, and fastening all together, till the whole roof was..strong. 1816Scott Old Mort. xvi, Few men ventured to cross swords with him. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey vi. vi, His arms crossed behind him. 1881Mrs. J. H. Riddell Senior Partner I. ii. 29 She crossed her soft white hands one over the other. 1886Mrs. E. Lynn Linton P. Carew viii, They rarely met without crossing swords on one matter if not another. 1886‘Maxwell Gray’ Silence of Dean Maitland ii. i, Staring at the sky, with one leg crossed over the other. 1902‘H. S. Merriman’ Vultures xxv. 223 The captain..crossed one leg over the other.
b. Naut. To set in position across the mast; hoist (a cross-sail): said formerly of sails, later of yards of a square-rigged vessel. Cf. cross-sail.
1393Gower Conf. I. 81 And forþ þei wenten into schipe And crossen seil and made hem ȝare Anon as þogh þei wolden fare. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 250 A fayre ryuer, wherein were manye shyppes, some vnder sayle, and some redye crossed. 1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. 38 Crosse your yards. 1840Dana Before the Mast v. (1854) 22 The wind having become light, we crossed our royal and skysail yards.
c. Telephony. To make a connection between (telephone or telegraph wires of different lines or circuits); freq. used in pass. of accidental connections. Also transf., implying a misunderstanding. Also crossed ppl. a., crossing vbl. n.
1884Telegraphic Jrnl. 31 May 469/1 (caption) Crossed wires. 1910H. Belloc Pongo & Bull iii. 56 ‘Don't mind me, Eddie, the wires were crossed.’ And with this meaningless but sufficient phrase, he jammed the receiver down again. 1910Hawkins's Electr. Dict. 100/2 Crossing wires, a temporary expedient when a defective section is found to exist in a telegraph circuit, for preserving the continuity of the circuit by crossing the wire over to a neighboring line till the fault is remedied. 1931Wodehouse If I were You i. 12 ‘There's a lunatic at the other end of the wire who keeps calling me Little Bright Eyes.’ ‘I fancy the wires must have become crossed, m'lady.’ 1932― Hot Water ii. 57 Can we by any chance have got the wires crossed?..It was the idea, wasn't it, that we should pile on to a pot of tea together? 1936― Laughing Gas vii. 78 An unforeseen crossing of the wires in the fourth dimension. 1958Listener 11 Dec. 976/1 This crossing of the political wires had many repercussions in politics.
6. a. Of things: To lie or pass across; to intersect.
c1391Chaucer Astrol. i. §5 Over-thwart this.. lyne, ther crosseth hym a-nother lyne. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 149 Set another Board..so that..they cross one another. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 148 The rays..must cross each other in the central point. 1840Lardner Geom. 65 The point X, where they [lines] cross each other.
b. intr.
1697[see crossing ppl. a.]. 1869Ouseley Counterp. vi. 30 It is allowable..to let the parts cross, so that the upper part should be below the lower part for a note or two. Mod. At the spot where two roads cross.
c. trans. To sit across, bestride (a horse, etc.). colloq.
1760R. Heber Horse Matches ix. 31 Ill bred riders crossing Queen Mab. 1781Cowper Retirement 467 To cross his ambling pony day by day. 1835Sir G. Stephen Search of Horse i. 7 The ‘sweetest little park horse that ever was crossed’. 1876Trevelyan Macaulay (1883) I. 123 He seldom crossed a saddle, and never willingly.
7. a. To draw a line across (another line or surface); to mark with lines or streaks athwart the surface; to write across (a letter). Also absol.
1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 324 Then cross this Line at right Angles with the Line CF. 1797T. Bewick Brit. Birds (1847) I. 65 With spots of white, crossed with zigzag lines. 1816Jane Austen Emma II. i. 7, I..must.. apologise for her writing so short a letter..in general she fills the whole paper and crosses half. 1819Keats Let. 3 Oct. (1958) II. 221 Brown has a few words to say to you and will cross this. 1849Thackeray in Scribn. Mag. I. 557/1, I have..crossed the t's and dotted the i's. 1850Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 115 A letter..two little sheets all crossed! 1924R. Macaulay Orphan Island xiv. §2. 176 Miss Smith had the sloping, flowing hand of the ladies of her period, and often crossed and recrossed.
b. Farming. To cross-plough; also intr. To admit of being crossed-ploughed.
1796Hull Advertiser 13 Feb. 1/4 The strong lands..are much chilled..and will cross badly..for want of dry winds. 1859Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XX. i. 213, I have broken up 201 acres, and have crossed 128 acres. 1864Ibid. XXV. ii. 298 In the month of May I cross the work by steam, going down this time to twelve inches.
c. Banking. to cross a cheque: to write across the face the name of a banking company, or simply the words ‘& Co’, between two lines, to be filled up with the name of a banking company, through whom alone it may be paid.
The crossing of cheques originated at the Clearing House, the name of the bank presenting the cheque being written across it to facilitate the work of the clearing-house clerks. See Exchequer Reports (1853) VII. 402.
1834Barnewall & Adolphus Reports IV. 752 Across the face of the cheque he had written the name of Martin & Co. A cheque so crossed, if presented by any person but the banker whose name is written across, is not paid without further enquiry. 1855Ann. Reg. 192 He..requested that he would cash it [a cheque] for him, as it was crossed. 1866Crump Banking iii. 83 Should the cheque be delivered to the payee, it is a good plan to ask for his banker's name, and cross it.
8. To pass over a line, boundary, river, channel, etc.; to pass from one side to the other of any space.
a. trans.
1583Foxe A. & M. App. 2136/2 Intendyng..to have crossed the seas into Fraunce. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 22 How yong Leander crost the Hellespont. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 920 No narrow frith He had to cross. 1709Steele Tatler No. 48 ⁋4 They crossed Cornhill together. 1860Tyndall Glaciers i. iii. 27 Our aim being to cross the mountains. 1873Black Pr. Thule xiii. 196 White clouds were slowly crossing a fair blue sky. Mod. After crossing the Equator, the ship was becalmed.
b. intr. Also with over. (In early use said of hunted beasts which wheel round and cross their own track.) spec. in Cricket: (a) in fielding, to cross to the other side of the wicket at the end of an over, or when a left-handed batsman replaces a right-handed one at the crease or vice versa; (b) of a bowler: to go across at the end of an over in order to bowl from the opposite wicket, thus bowling two overs in succession (no longer permitted).
1486Bk. St. Albans E ij b, When ye hunt at the Roo..He crosses and tresones yowre howndys befoore. 1530Palsgr. 502/1, I crosse over the waye. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, i. iv. 10, I..was embark'd to crosse to Burgundy. 1632Lithgow Trav. ix. (1682) 384 Crossing over in a Boat to the Town of Putzolo. 1711Addison Spect. No. 63 ⁋7, I left the Temple, and crossed over the Fields. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 559 The only ford by which the travellers could cross. 1867G. H. Selkirk Guide to Cricket-Ground iv. 59 Avoiding the necessity of the field crossing over so frequently. 1877C. Box Eng. Game Cricket 447 To cross over is to change wickets, which a bowler is permitted to do twice in an innings. 1883Daily Tel. 15 May 2/7 Peate [bowler at cricket] now crossed over to the other end. 1908W. E. W. Collins County Cricketer's Diary ix. 162 ‘He's not quite so good [a bowler] as I thought,’ he confided..as we crossed over.
c. causal. To carry across.
1804Monson in Owen Wellesley's Desp. 525 Finding the river fordable, I began to cross my baggage. 1882H. S. Holland Logic & Life (1883) 14 It shifts and moves and crosses them from place to place.
d. intr. Biol. to cross over: of segments of chromatids of homologous chromosomes: to interchange and recombine during synapsis; to undergo crossing-over (see crossing vbl. n. 11).
1915T. H. Morgan et al. Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity iii. 59 Sex linked factors cross over from each other. 1916Jrnl. Genetics V. 284 If..for every chromosome which crosses over in this definite way, another similar chromosome in another nucleus does not cross over at all, [etc.]. 1920[see cross-over 4]. 1949Darlington & Mather Elem. Genetics iii. 45 The chromosomes, or rather their constituent chromatids, cross-over and separate in germ cell formation just as the genes segregate and recombine.
e. euphem. To die.
1930‘R. Crompton’ William's Happy Days ix. 224 My dear, dear little four-footed friend..'E crossed over last week. 1935N. Collins 3 Friends xvii. 265 Just before she crossed over she mentioned your name.
9. a. Of things: To extend across from side to side.
1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 171 b, They must have warme Houses, as your Pigions have, crossed through with small Pearches. 1631Gouge God's Arrows iv. xv. 399 The maine Summier which crossed the garret. 1832Stat. 2 & 3 Wm. IV, c. 64 Sched. O. 48 The said railroad..crosses a small stream.
b. intr.
1613–39I. Jones in Leoni Palladio's Archit. (1742) II. 43 A Wall that crosses from the said Wall to the Cornice. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxxiv. 137 Canals..crossing through the length and bredth of the City.
10. a. To meet and pass; to pass (each other) in opposite directions; to meet in passing.
1782F. Burney Cecilia iv. i, She was crossed upon the stairs by Mr. Harrel, who passed her [etc.]. 1822Lamb Elia Ser. i. Dream Children, Now and then a solitary gardening man would cross me. 1854Lowell Jrnl. in Italy Prose Wks. 1890 I. 185 Swallows swam in and out with level wings, or crossed each other.
b. Of two letters or messengers: To pass each other on their way between two persons, who have written to each other at the same time. trans. and intr.
1793Twining Recreat. & Stud. (1882) 173, I am always angry at this crossing of letters. 1819Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life II. iii. 71 Our letters always cross, my dear Sir William. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 530 This paper on its way to Whitehall crossed the messenger who brought to Portsmouth the order. 1860Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 19 A letter from me would have crossed yours..on the road.
11. a. To meet or face in one's way; esp. to meet adversely; to encounter. arch.
1598R. Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. iii. ix. 77 The legions..which Visellius, and C. Silius, had set to crosse them, droue them backe. 1602Shakes. Ham. i. i. 127 Ile crosse it, though it blast me. 1628Earle Microcosm., A Sharke (Arb.) 36 Men shun him..and he is never crost in his way, if there be but a lane to escape him. 1631E. Pellham God's Power & Prov. in Collect. Voy. (Church.) IV. 821/2 Tho' cross'd sometimes with contrary Winds homeward bound. 1797Mrs. Radcliffe Italian i, He was gone before I could cross him. 1813Byron Giaour 1084 He knew and crossed me in the fray.
fig.1581Mulcaster Positions xxxvi. (1887) 134 There be two great doubtes which crosse me.
b. To come across (see come v. 38), to meet with, to come upon in one's way. rare.
1684R. H. Sch. Recreat. 19 If the Hound chance to cross them, Sport may be had. But no Rule can be prescribed how to find or hunt them. 1857Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art 20 We can hardly read a few sentences on any political subject without running a chance of crossing the phrase ‘paternal government’.
12. to cross the path of (any one): to meet him in his way, to come in the way of; often implying obstruction or thwarting; also, to pass across his path in front of him. to cross the bows of (a ship): to pass across her path immediately in front of her.
1608Bp. Hall Char. Vertues & V. ii. 88 This man..if but an hare crosse him the way, he returnes. 1818W. Irving Sketch Bk., Leg. Sleepy Hollow (1865) 426 He would have passed a pleasant life..if his path had not been crossed..by a woman. 1841De Quincey Lond. Remin. vi. Wks. 1890 III. 182 Suppose them insolently to beard you in public haunts, to cross your path continually. 1883Law Times Rep. XLIX. 332 The Margaret..attempted to cross the bows of the Clan Sinclair. 1892R. Boldrewood Nevermore III. xx. 66 Let him cross my path again at his peril.
13. to cross one's mind, etc. (rarely to cross one): to occur suddenly or momentarily to one, as if flashed across the mind.
1768Sterne Sent. Journ., Snuff-box, The good old monk was within six paces of us, as the idea of him cross'd my mind. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxvii, No notion, therefore, of impropriety crossed her imagination. 1834Medwin Angler in Wales I. 258 Such an idea never crossed one of our minds. 1861Dickens Gt. Expect. li, A misgiving crossed me that Wemmick would be instantly dismissed.
14. fig.
a. To thwart, oppose, go counter to.
c1555J. Rogers in Foxe A. & M. (1846) VI. 608 He but chasteneth his dearlings and crosseth them for a small while..as all fathers do with their children. 1588J. Udall Demonstr. Discip. (Arb.) 72 He that loueth Christ, cannot crosse the course of the Gospel. 1631Gouge God's Arrows iv. x. 388 It is..better that our purpose and desire be crossed. 1673Temple Ireland Wks. 1731 I. 113 Without crossing any Interest of Trade in England. 1711Steele Spect. No. 2 ⁋1 He was crossed in Love. 1722De Foe Relig. Courtsh. i. i. (1840) 10 He will never cross her in small Matters. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 255 He therefore determined to cross those designs. 1876F. E. Trollope Charming Fellow I. xi. 149, I never cross her, or talk to her much when she is not feeling well.
†b. To bar, debar, preclude from. Obs. rare.
1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 127 To crosse me from the Golden time I looke for. a1650W. Bradford Plymouth Plant. (1856) 329 He in y⊇ end crost this petition from taking any further effecte in this kind.
†c. To contradict, contravene, traverse (a sentence, statement, etc.). Obs.
1589Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 42 When I alledged faith, she crost me with æneas. 1614Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 848 They..will be crossing every thing that is spoken. 1675Brooks Gold. Key Wks. 1867 V. 55 One divine sentence cannot cross and rescind another. 1687Dryden Hind & P. iii. lxviii. 4 A sort of Doves..Who cross the Proverb, and abound with Gall. 1702Charlett Let. in Pepys' Diary 26 Sept., Which makes travel so easy, as to cross a sentence of Lord Burghley's [to the contrary].
d. slang. To cheat or double-cross; to act dishonestly in or towards; cf. cross n. 29. Also intr. (see quot. 1925).
1823in P. Egan Grose's Dict. Vulgar T. a1891Henley & Stevenson Deacon Brodie iii. iv, in Farmer Slang (1891) II. 218/1 What made you cross the fight, and play booty with your own man? 1925Flynn's 10 Jan. 877/2 Cross, to squeal; to betray... To deceive; to cheat one's pals. 1938G. Greene Brighton Rock ii. ii. 86 It wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been crossed. A journalist thought he could put one over on us. 1960‘W. Haggard’ Closed Circuit xv. 179 He'd been using us; he'd crossed us; and he knew too much for safety.
†15.
a. intr. to cross with: to go counter to. Obs.
a1586Sidney (J.), Men's actions do not always cross with reason. a1641Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 150 Yet that crosseth not with abbreviation, but confirms it rather. a1662Heylyn Life Laud (1668) 156 When it seemed.. to cross with the Puritan Interest.
†b. to cross upon (or cross on): (a) to oppose, go counter to; (b) to come across, come upon. Obs.
a1678Feltham Resolves, etc. (1709) 552 So long as we cross not upon Religion. 1701Collier M. Aurel. (1726) 246 He that crosses upon this design, is prophane in his contradiction. 1748Walpole Lett. to G. Montagu (1891) II. 121 In this search I have crossed upon another descent. 1750Chesterfield Lett. II. ccxx. 349 He is in hopes of crossing upon you somewhere or other. 1824Miss. L. M. Hawkins Mem. I. 25 note, One day suddenly crossing on the gentleman.
16. a. trans. To cause to interbreed; to modify (a race) by interbreeding; to cross-fertilize (plants).
1754Warburton Letters (1809) 174 As that people [the Jews] had no commerce with any other, there was a necessity of crossing the strain as much as possible. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 282 This variety seems formed by crossing the breed of such as are imported from various climates. 1802Ann. Reg. 353 The advantage which has resulted from crossing the breed of cattle. 1851Beck's Florist 142 Cross such flowers as appear likely to yield the most desirable colours and shapes. 1883Stevenson Silverado Sq. (1886) 51 A setter crossed with spaniel.
absol.1842J. Bischoff Woollen Manuf. II. 141 They have been generally crossing for bigger sheep, and..have produced a coarser kind of wool.
b. intr. To breed together, being of distinct races or breeds, to interbreed.
18..Coleridge (Webster), If two individuals of distinct races cross, a third is invariably produced differing from either. 1845Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VI. ii. 453 These [mares] do not cross well with the thorough-bred stallions.
▸ intr. orig. U.S.to cross over: (of a recording artist or piece of music) to go from appealing only to a particular (niche) market to being popular with a different (esp. wider) audience. Cf. cross-over n. Additions b.
1973N.Y. Times 13 June 56/3 Sly, a black performer who crossed over into the white rock market. 1986City Limits 16 Oct. 41 For the DJ, crossing over is more than simply a move from roots to respectability or even from black to white audiences. 1992Sunday Oregonian (Nexis) 29 Mar. (Lively Arts section) 1 We've had groups like U2, the Police and R.E.M. that were No. 1 on CMJ cross over and become big hits in Billboard, but never as quickly as Nirvana did it. 2000Esquire June 78/1 He burst from there in 1986 with Guitar Town, which reached number one on the country charts and then..crossed over and rose up the pop charts.
▪ III. cross, a.|krɒs, krɔːs|
[Originally an attrib. or elliptical use of cross adv., some participle (e.g. lying, passing, coming, etc.) being understood.]
No clear line can be drawn between this and various uses of cross- in combination, the employment of the hyphen being in many cases unfixed. See cross- 4, 5, 9.
1. a. Lying or situated athwart the main direction; transverse; passing from side to side. Also said fig. of things to which spatial relations are transferred.
1523Fitzherb. Surv. xx. (1539) 41 Built with two crosse chambers of stone. 1570Act 13 Eliz. c. ii §2 Vessels with cross Sails. 1583Stanyhurst Aeneis ii. (Arb.) 66 Through crosse blynd allye we iumble. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. i. iii. 50 The crosse blew Lightning. 1719De Foe Crusoe I. xv. 253 Tying the string to the cross stick. 1761F. Sheridan S. Bidulph III. 255 The road for carriages between the two houses, being a cross one, was very bad. 1867A. Barry Sir C. Barry vi. 230 The cross roofs connecting them with the main building.
fig.1826Disraeli Viv. Grey iii. viii, How many cross interests baffle the parties. 1848Mill Pol. Econ. iii. vii. §1 It is easier to ascertain..the relations of many things to one thing, than their innumerable cross relations with one another. 1868M. Pattison Academ. Org. v. 146 Our position will not be confused by a cross issue.
b. Passing or lying athwart each other; crossing, intersecting.
1602Marston Ant. & Mel. Induct., As crosse as a pair of tailors' legs. a1619M. Fotherby Atheom. ii. xi. §2 (1622) 313 They runne in crosse courses; and yet doe not crosse one another, in their courses. 1653Cloria & Narcissus i. 84 To sit with his armes crosse, looking up at the heavens. a1742Bentley (J.), When they..advance towards one another in direct lines, or meet in the intersection of cross ones. 1799G. Smith Laboratory II. 34 This is generally performed by little cross etchings, one over another. 1830E. S. N. Campbell Dict. Mil. Sc. 231 The honorable badge of a Regimental Colour supported by two cross Swords.
fig.1684R. H. Sch. Recreat. 91 The second is called Cross, so are its methods cross and intricate.
c. Of the wind: Blowing across the direct course, contrary. Also fig. (See cross-wind.)
Sometimes with a blending of sense 4: adverse.
a1617Bayne On Eph. (1658) 49 Every wind, even the crossest shall help us to the haven. 1676H. Teonge Diary (1825) 195 The wind crosse and very high all these days. 1763Johnson Lett. to G. Strahan 14 July, My friendship is light enough to be blown away by the first cross blast.
d. Of the sea: said when the waves run athwart the direction of the wind, or when two sets of waves cross each other, owing to change of wind. Also cross-surge, cross-swell, cross-tide.
1823Scoresby Jrnl. 375 A mountainous sea, rendered awfully heavy and cross by the sudden changing of the wind. 1864Dickens Mut. Fr. I. i. xiv. 133 In the cross-swell of two steamers. 1866Daily Tel. 18 Jan. 4/3 The terrific cross-sea constantly broke over her. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Cross-sea, a sea not caused by the wind then blowing. Ibid., Cross-swell, this is similar to a cross-sea, except that it undulates without breaking violently. Ibid., Cross-tide, the varying directions of the flow amongst shoals that are under water. 1891Kipling Light that Failed xv. 311 A boisterous little cross-swell swung the steamer disrespectfully by the nose. 1899― Five Nations (1903) 9 'Twixt wrench of cross-surges or plunge of head-gale. 1903Q. Rev. Apr. 486 Like vortices upon a surface of water swept by violent cross-tides.
e. Cricket. Applied to a bat held in a slanting position. Cf. cross- A. 8.
1871F. Gale Echoes from Old Cricket Fields 25 If you hit her you could only do it with a cross bat. 1891W. G. Grace Cricket viii. 224 Playing with a straight bat is more likely to protect your wicket than playing with a cross bat. 1928Daily Express 12 Nov. 3/4 One amazing cross-bat shot, head high..over cover's head to the boundary.
†2. Diagonally opposite in position (as in a quadrilateral). Obs. rare. Cf. cross-corner.
1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. v. 115 The progression of quadrupeds being performed per Diametrum, that is the crosse legs moving or resting together.
3. Contrary, opposite, opposed (to each other, or to something specified). (Now rarely predicative.)
1565J. Calfhill Answ. to Martiall (Parker Soc.) 72, I am ashamed of your too cross and overthwart proofs. 1602W. Fulbecke 1st. Pt. Parall. Introd. 5 There is nothing in it which to the Law of God is crosse or opposite. 1631May tr. Barclay's Mirr. Mindes ii. 220 Where they begin a little to differ, they will afterwards be crosse in all things from those men. 1646E. F[isher] Mod. Divinity 24 As if he were reduced to..straits..by the crosse demands of his severall attributes. 1674Hickman Quinquart. Hist. (ed. 2) 171 Is this Election cross to that of the Calvinists? a1787R. Lowth Serm. & Rem. 414 Giving me answers so very cross to the purpose. 1865Bushnell Vicar. Sacr. iii. iv. (1868) 307 It is cross to our humanly selfish habit.
4. Of events, circumstances, or fortune: Adverse, opposing, thwarting; contrary to one's desire or liking; unfavourable, untoward.
1565J. Calfhill Answ. to Martiall (Parker Soc.) 113 For when the Cross was most magnified, we had cross luck among. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 69 Frame your selfe to beare all other crosse matters. 1607Dekker Northw. Hoe ii. Wks. 1873 III. 24 Such crosse fortune! 1676Dryden Aurengz. iii. 1078 With Fate so cross One must be happy by the other's loss. 1690W. Walker Idiomat. Anglo-Lat. 126 We had such cross weather. 1725De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 302 We had but a cross voyage..having contrary winds..and sometimes bad weather. 1780F. Burney Lett. 14 Dec., Some..cross accident for ever frustrates my rhetorical designs.
5. Of persons, their dispositions, actions, etc.:
†a. Given to opposition; inclined to quarrel or disagree; perverse, froward, contrarious. Obs. or arch.
1588Shakes. Tit. A. ii. iii. 53 Be crosse with him, and Ile goe fetch thy Sonnes to backe thy quarrel. 1594― Rich. III, iii. i. 126 My Lord of Yorke will still be crosse in talke. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 304 No man..vnto his friends more friendly, or vnto his enemies more crosse and contrarie. 1685Baxter Paraphr. N.T. Matt. xi. 16–17 You are cross to us whatever game we play. 1770Foote Lame Lover ii. Wks. 1799 II. 73, I hope you won't go for to tell him..Indeed, Sir, but I shall..No, sister, I'm sure you won't be so cross. 1851C. L. Smith tr. Tasso iv. xxi, How vain are all thy judgements, and how cross.
b. Ill-tempered, peevish, petulant; in an irritable frame of mind, out of humour, vexed. (colloq.).
1639T. B. Admirable Events 341 The stepmother beholds me with crosse lookes. 1676Wycherley Pl. Dealer iii. i, If she gives me but a cross word, I'll leave her to-night. 1711Swift Jrnl. to Stella 17 Nov., I just heard of the stir as my letter was sealed..and was so cross I would not open it to tell you. 1771F. Burney Early Diary (1889) I. 120 He is equally ugly and cross. 1796Jane Austen Pride & Prej. II. x, I have never had a cross word from him in my life. 1835Marryat Jac. Faithf. viii, I can't bear to be cross to him. 1860Sala Lady Chesterf. 43 The crossest of old maids.
c. Phr. as cross as two sticks (with play on sense 1 b).
1842S. Lover Handy Andy ii. 24 The renowned O'Grady was according to her account as cross as two sticks. 1855Ld. Houghton in Life I. xi. 518 [He] has been as cross as two sticks at not having been asked to dinner at Court.
6. a. Involving interchange or reciprocal action.
App. not used predicatively, and often hyphened as a case of combination (which is preferable).
1581Lambarde Eiren. ii. iv. (1588) 164 In some cases..there may be a double (or crosse) restitution awarded. 1664Dryden Rival Ladies i. ii, For hapning both to Love each other Sisters, They have concluded it in a cross Marriage. 1876T. Le M. Douse Grimm's Law xxxix. 81 The..phenomenon of a cross-transfer of a foreign sound to native words and a native sound to foreign words.
b. Book-keeping. Applied to accounts between two parties each of which has claims upon the other; also, to formal entries transferring amounts from one account to another, or made on opposite sides of an account so as to neutralize each other. (Here also cross- is more usually hyphened.)
1893Gladstone Sp. in Parliament 12 Feb., We hope to escape cross accounts and cross payments on revenue accounts [i.e. between Imperial and Irish revenue].
7. Of animals and plants: Cross-bred; hybrid.
1886York Herald 7 Aug. 1/3 Sale of Cross Lambs. 1889Boldrewood Robbery under Arms (1890) 12 ‘Clearskins’ and ‘cross’ beasts.
8. slang. Dishonest; dishonestly come by. (Opposed to square or straight.) Cf. crooked 3 b, and cross n. 29.
1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict. in Mem. (1819) II. 165 Any article which has been irregularly obtained..is emphatically termed a cross article. 1882Sydney Slang Dict. 3/1 Cross cove, a thief. Ibid. 10/2 Four deaners for lush for the cross coves and their blowers. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right II. xv. 62 He believed all the ‘cross boys’ of all the colonies were congregated here. 1892― Nevermore I. ix. 168 ‘Selling him a cross horse as any man might have knowed was too good for them to own on the square.’ Ibid. I. x. 179 ‘He don't know a cross cove from a straight 'un.’
¶ See also cross- II.
▪ IV. cross, adv. Now rare.|krɒs, krɔːs|
[Aphetic form of across, orig. a phrase on cross, a-cross: cf. adown, down, etc.]
†1. From side to side, whether at right angles or obliquely; across, athwart, transversely. Obs.
[a1400–50Alexander 4872 And þai croke ouire crosse to cache þaim anothire.] 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 178 b, Cast bowes of Willowe crosse..That may preserve the fainting Bee, that in the flud doth fall. 1620–55I. Jones Stone-Heng (1725) 47 The Pict's Wall, extending cross over our Island. 1641Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 126 The boards lyinge thus crosse, one chesse one way and another another. 1699Bentley Phal. §2. 39 The Arundel Marble lies cross in our way. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. 127, I now resolv'd to travel quite cross to the Sea-Shore on that Side. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §53 Courses of timber alternately cross and cross.
†2. In a contrary way, in opposition to. Obs.
1614T. Adams Devil's Banquet 217 Jesus Well: whose bottome..was in Heauen; whose mouth and spring downewards to the earth: crosse to all earthly fountaines. 1638Chillingw. Relig. Prot. i. v. §84. 288 To foist in two others, clean crosse to the Doctor's purpose. 1718Hickes & Nelson J. Kettlewell ii. xlix. 153 Every Thing was carried cross to his Intentions. a1732T. Boston Crook in Lot (1805) 33 The crook of the lot will..be found to lie cross to some wrong bias of the heart.
3. In an adverse or unfavourable way; contrary to one's desire or liking; awry, amiss; = across adv. 4. Obs. or colloq.
1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 164 Things falling out crosse with the old Emperour. 1646P. Bulkeley Gospel Covt. i. 156 Though things goe crosse against us. 1691Norris Pract. Disc. 248 There is yet another thing..which lies very cross upon our Minds. 1703Lond. Gaz. No. 3937/3 The Tide fell cross in the night. 1883G. Lloyd Ebb & Flow II. 300, I wonder why things do go so cross in this world.
¶ See also cross- III.
▪ V. cross, prep.
[cross adv. with object expressed.]
= across prep. Now dial. or poetic: in the latter case commonly written 'cross, as a recognized abbreviation.
cross lots, more commonly across lots (U.S.): across the lots or fields as a short cut: cf. cross-country.
1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. xxii, Draw a corde or stryng line crosse the circle. 1591Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. i. 114, I charge thee waft me safely crosse the Channell. 1684Evelyn Diary 24 Jan., Hardly could one see crosse the streetes. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 135 Cut into the Girder three Inches cross the Grain of the Stuff. 1761Foote Liar i, Hallooing to a pretty fellow cross the Mall. c1777Beattie Hares 196 The scatter'd clouds fly 'cross the heaven. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 201 Whether sauntering we proceed Cross the green, or down the mead.
¶ See also cross- IV. |