Where does “cross” come from?
Cross comes from Middle English cross, from Old English cros, from Old Norse kross, from Old Irish cros, from Latin crux meaning "stake" or "gallows," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- and sek- meaning "to cut."
cross (English): A geometrical figure consisting of two straight...
Definitions
- A geometrical figure consisting of two straight...
Ancestry of “cross”, step by step
cross traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French croix
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | croix | cross; a representation of a cross; the cross as... |
| 2 | German | Kreuz | cross; clubs; sharp |
| 3 | Spanish | Cruz | cross |
| 4 | Portuguese | cruz | cross |
| 5 | Italian | croce | cross |
| 6 | Latin | crux | wooden frame on which criminals were crucified,... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *kruks | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱer- | to caw, crow |