cross-leggedadj.
/ˈkrɒslɛɡd//krɒsˈlɛɡd//ˈkrɔːslɛɡd//krɔːsˈlɛɡd/ a. Having the legs crossed (usually of a person in a sitting posture).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > action or fact of sitting > [adjective] > with legs crossed
cross-leggeda1533
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. Arthur of Brytayn (?1560) lxiiii. sig. Ov Some sytting before their owne dores, croslegged.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World xii. 329 They use no Chairs, but sit cross-legg'd like Taylors on the floor.
1867 J. G. Whittier Tent on Beach xiv In the tent-shade..[He] Smoked, cross-legged like a Turk, in Oriental calm.
b.
(a) Having one leg laid across the other.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > representation in art > [adjective] > of living thing > posture
cross-legged1631
crossed-legged1845
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 274 An armed knight crosse legged is to bee seene.
1780 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 2) IV. v. 96 Bishops in cumbent attitudes and cross-legged templars.
1850 W. D. Cooper Hist. Winchelsea 132 Canopied tombs of cross-legged secular warriors.
(b) In this sense sometimes ˈcrossed-legged pron.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > representation in art > [adjective] > of living thing > posture
cross-legged1631
crossed-legged1845
1845 G. A. Poole Churches xii. 118 (note) All these figures of crossed-legged persons have been popularly referred to Templars.
1864 C. Boutell Heraldry Hist. & Pop. (ed. 3) ix. 54 The shield of a crossed-legged knight in the Temple Church.
Derivatives
cross-leggedness n. Apparently an isolated use.
ΚΠ
1852 G. W. Curtis Wanderer in Syria 236 He naturally fell into the cross-leggedness of oriental sitting.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online September 2019).
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adj.a1533