cross

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Old Norse or Old Irish; Old Norse kross, from Old Irish cros, from Latin cruc-, crux Date: before 12th century 1. a. a structure consisting of an upright with a transverse beam used especially by the ancient Romans for execution b. often capitalized the cross on which Jesus was crucified 2. a. crucifixion b. an affliction that tries one's virtue, steadfastness, or patience 3. a cruciform sign made to invoke the blessing of Christ especially by touching the forehead, breast, and shoulders 4. a. a device composed of an upright bar traversed by a horizontal one; specifically one used as a Christian symbol b. capitalized the Christian religion 5. a structure (as a monument) shaped like or surmounted by a cross 6. a figure or mark formed by two intersecting lines crossing at their midpoints; specifically such a mark used as a signature 7. a cruciform badge, emblem, or decoration 8. the intersection of two ways or lines ; crossing 9. annoyance, thwarting <

a cross in love

> 10. a. an act of crossing dissimilar individuals b. a crossbred individual or kind c. one that combines characteristics of two different types or individuals 11. a. a fraudulent or dishonest contest b. dishonest or illegal practices — used especially in the phrase on the cross 12. a movement from one part of a theater stage to another 13. a. a punch thrown over the opponent's lead in boxing b. an attacking pass in soccer played across the field from one side to the other or to the middle 14. a security transaction in which a broker acts for both buyer and seller (as in the placing of a large lot of common stock) — called also cross-trade II. verb Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to lie or be situated across b. intersect 2. to make the sign of the cross upon or over 3. to cancel by marking a cross on or drawing a line through ; strike out <

cross names off a list

> 4. to place or fold crosswise one over the other <

cross the arms

> 5. a. (1) to run counter to ; oppose (2) to deny the validity of ; contradict b. to confront in a troublesome manner ; obstruct c. (1) to spoil completely ; disrupt — used with up <

his failure to appear crossed up the whole program

> (2) to turn against ; betray <

crossed me up on the deal

> 6. a. to extend across or over ; traverse <

a highway crossing the entire state

> b. reach, attain <

only two crossed the finish line

> c. to go from one side of to the other <

cross a street

> <

crosses racial barriers

> 7. a. to draw a line across b. to mark or figure with lines ; streak 8. to cause (an animal or plant) to interbreed with one of a different kind ; hybridize 9. to meet and pass on the way <

our letters must have crossed each other

> 10. to occur to <

it never crossed my mind

> 11. to carry or take across something <

crossed the children at the intersection

> intransitive verb 1. a. to move, pass, or extend across something <

crossed through France

> <

crossed over to the other side of the river

> b. to move or pass from one character, condition, or allegiance to another — used with over <

crossing over to vote for another party's candidate

> <

a musician who has crossed over from country to pop

> 2. to lie or be athwart each other 3. to meet in passing especially from opposite directions 4. interbreed, hybridize • crosser noun III. adjective Date: 14th century 1. a. lying across or athwart b. moving across <

cross traffic

> 2. a. running counter ; opposite b. mutually opposed <

cross purposes

> 3. involving mutual interchange ; reciprocal 4. marked by typically transitory bad temper 5. extending over or treating several groups, conditions, or classes <

a cross sample from 25 colleges

> 6. crossbred, hybrid • crossly adverb • crossness noun IV. preposition Date: 1551 across V. adverb Date: 1577 not parallel ; crisscross, crosswise