crosier
UK /ˈkɹəʊzi.ə/ · US /ˈkɹoʊʒɚ/ noun, proper noun
Forms crosiers crozier
- noun A staff with a hooked end similar to a shepherd's crook, or with a cross at the end, carried by an abbot, bishop, or archbishop as a symbol of office.
- noun (botany) A young fern frond, before it has unrolled.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English; originally referring to the staff bearer, from a merger of Old French words crocier (“bearer of a cross”) and croisier (“one who bears or has to do with a cross”), ultimately from Latin crux (“cross”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The pastoral staff of a bishop (also of an archbishop, being the symbol of his office as a shepherd of the flock of God.
Etymology [OE. rocer, croser, croyser, fr. croce crosier, OF. croce, croche, F. crosse, fr. LL. crocea, crocia, from the same German or Celtic sourse as F. croc hook; akin to E. crook.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “crosier”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details