sign of the cross en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
A calque translation of Latin signum crucis.
Meanings
-
A gesture of the hand moving over the front of one's body, or over an object, in the shape of a cross made as part of ritual or to invoke divine protection.
If a morsel of food fell off your plate, the advice of one contemporary document was to pick it up, make the sign of the cross over it, season it well - and then eat it. The sign of the cross was the antiseptic of the year 1000.
1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 122:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| signs of the cross | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| sign of the Cross | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (33)
pt sinal da cruz (gesture) · da korsets tegn (gesture) · sw ishara ya msalaba (gesture) · tr istavroz (gesture) · pl znak krzyża (gesture) · cmn 十字聖號 /十字圣号 (gesture) · sv korstecken (gesture) · de Kreuzzeichen (gesture) · cs znamení kříže (gesture) · fr signe de croix (gesture) · nb korstegnet (gesture) · ru кре́стное зна́мение (gesture) · uk знак хреста (gesture) · de Bekreuzigung (gesture) · tl antanda (gesture) · ga comhartha na croise (gesture) · es santiguamiento (gesture) · vi dấu Thánh Giá (gesture) · ang rōde tācn (gesture) · la signum crucis (gesture) · uk хресне знамення (gesture) · xcl կնիք (gesture) · ota خاچ (gesture) · hu keresztvetés (gesture) · fi ristinmerkki (gesture) · io krucosigno (gesture) · cs křížování (gesture) · ga fíor na croise (gesture) · it segno della croce (gesture) · es señal de la cruz (gesture) · nl kruisteken (gesture) · el σταυρός (gesture) · cmn 聖號 /圣号 (gesture)