Cross (kr&obreve_;s; 115), n. [OE. crois, croys, cros; the former fr. OF. crois, croiz, F. croix, fr. L. crux; the second is perh. directly fr. Prov. cros, crotz. fr. the same L. crux; cf. Icel. kross. Cf. Crucial, Crusade, Cruise, Crux.]
[1913 Webster]

1. A gibbet, consisting of two pieces of timber placed transversely upon one another, in various forms, as a T, or +, with the horizontal piece below the upper end of the upright, or as an X. It was anciently used in the execution of criminals.
[1913 Webster]

Nailed to the cross
By his own nation. Milton.
[1913 Webster]

2. The sign or mark of the cross, made with the finger, or in ink, etc., or actually represented in some material; the symbol of Christ's death; the ensign and chosen symbol of Christianity, of a Christian people, and of Christendom.
[1913 Webster]

The custom of making the sign of the cross with the hand or finger, as a means of conferring blessing or preserving from evil, is very old. Schaff-Herzog Encyc.
[1913 Webster]

Before the cross has waned the crescent's ray. Sir W. Scott.
[1913 Webster]

Tis where the cross is preached. Cowper.
[1913 Webster]

3. Affiction regarded as a test of patience or virtue; trial; disappointment; opposition; misfortune.
[1913 Webster]

Heaven prepares a good man with crosses. B. Jonson.
[1913 Webster]

4. A piece of money stamped with the figure of a cross, also, that side of such a piece on which the cross is stamped; hence, money in general.
[1913 Webster]

I should bear no cross if I did bear you; for I think you have no money in your purse. Shak.
[1913 Webster]

5. An appendage or ornament or anything in the form of a cross; a badge or ornamental device of the general shape of a cross; hence, such an ornament, even when varying considerably from that form; thus, the Cross of the British Order of St. George and St. Michael consists of a central medallion with seven arms radiating from it.
[1913 Webster]

6. (Arch.) A monument in the form of a cross, or surmounted by a cross, set up in a public place; as, a market cross; a boundary cross; Charing Cross in London.
[1913 Webster]

Dun-Edin's Cross, a pillared stone,
Rose on a turret octagon. Sir W. Scott.
[1913 Webster]

7. (Her.) A common heraldic bearing, of which there are many varieties. See the Illustration, above.
[1913 Webster]

8. The crosslike mark or symbol used instead of a signature by those unable to write.
[1913 Webster]

Five Kentish abbesses . . . .subscribed their names and crosses. Fuller.
[1913 Webster]

9. Church lands. [Ireland] [Obs.] Sir J. Davies.
[1913 Webster]

10. A line drawn across or through another line.
[1913 Webster]

11. Hence: A mixing of breeds or stock, especially in cattle breeding; or the product of such intermixture; a hybrid of any kind.
[1913 Webster]

Toning down the ancient Viking into a sort of a cross between Paul Jones and Jeremy Diddler. Lord Dufferin.
[1913 Webster]

12. (Surveying) An instrument for laying of offsets perpendicular to the main course.
[1913 Webster]

13. (Mech.) A pipe-fitting with four branches the axes of which usually form's right angle.
[1913 Webster]

Cross and pile, a game with money, at which it is put to chance whether a coin shall fall with that side up which bears the cross, or the other, which is called pile, or reverse; the game called heads or tails. -- Cross bottony or Cross bottoné. See under Bottony. -- Cross estoilé (Her.). a cross, each of whose arms is pointed like the ray of a star; that is, a star having four long points only. -- Cross of Calvary. See Calvary, 3. -- Southern cross. (Astron.) See under Southern. -- To do a thing on the cross, to act dishonestly; -- opposed to acting on the square. [Slang] -- To take up the cross, to bear troubles and afflictions with patience from love to Christ.
[1913 Webster]

Cross, prep. Athwart; across. [Archaic or Colloq.]
[1913 Webster]

A fox was taking a walk one night cross a village. L'Estrange.
[1913 Webster]

To go cross lots, to go across the fields; to take a short cut. [Colloq.]
[1913 Webster]

Cross, v. i. 1. To lie or be athwart.
[1913 Webster]

2. To move or pass from one side to the other, or from place to place; to make a transit; as, to cross from New York to Liverpool.
[1913 Webster]

3. To be inconsistent. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]

Men's actions do not always cross with reason. Sir P. Sidney.
[1913 Webster]

4. To interbreed, as races; to mix distinct breeds.
[1913 Webster]

If two individuals of distinct races cross, a third is invariably produced different from either. Coleridge.
[1913 Webster]