释义 |
maltese cross noun Usage: usually capitalized M 1. a. : a cross formée b. : a cross resembling the cross formée but having the outer face of each arm indented in a V — called also cross of eight points 2. : a Eurasian garden perennial (Lychnis chalcedonica) having scarlet or rarely white flowers in dense terminal heads — called also scarlet lychnis 3. a. : a star wheel with teeth shaped like a Maltese cross used with a finger stop wheel to limit the uncoiling of a watch mainspring — called also Geneva stop b. : a similar device in a motion-picture projector used to advance a film one or more frames at a time |