crosier Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a staff surmounted by a crook or cross carried by bishops as a symbol of pastoral office
    crozier.

WordNet

Cro"sier noun
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.
Definitions
  1. The pastoral staff of a bishop (also of an archbishop, being the symbol of his office as a shepherd of the flock of God. ✍ The true shape of the crosier was with a hooked or curved top; the archbishop's staff alone bore a cross instead of a crook, and was of exceptional, not of regular form. Skeat.

Webster 1913