cross : Idioms & Phrases

• a passage for air in a mine.

Webster 1913

• . See under Bottony.

Webster 1913

• noun a Latin cross set on three steps
  Calvary cross.
  

WordNet

• noun a Latin cross with a ring surrounding the intersection
  

WordNet

• (Law), an action brought by a party who is sued against the person who has sued him, upon the same subject matter, as upon the same contract. Burrill.

Webster 1913

• (Arch.), a transept; the lateral divisions of a cruciform church.

Webster 1913

• 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.

Webster 1913

• . (a) (Mach.) A shaft, windlass, or roller, worked by levers at opposite ends, as in the copperplate printing press. (b) A driving axle. with cranks set at an angle of 90° with each other.

Webster 1913

• (Geol. ), oblique lamination of horizontal beds,

Webster 1913

• . See in the Vocabulary.

Webster 1913

• noun a rock drill having cruciform cutting edges; used in mining
  

WordNet

• . Same as Crosspiece.

Webster 1913

• a form of bricklaying, in which the joints of one stretcher course come midway between those of the stretcher courses above and below, a course of headers and stretchers intervening. See Bond, n., 8.

Webster 1913

• ∨

Webster 1913

• . See in the Vocabulary.

Webster 1913

• . See under Breeding.

Webster 1913

• noun moderately sweet raised roll containing spices and raisins and citron and decorated with a cross-shaped sugar glaze
  cross bun.
  

WordNet

• a particular throw in wrestling; hence, an unexpected defeat or repulse. Smollet.

Webster 1913

• noun a long race run over open country
  

WordNet

• across the country; not by the road. "The cross-country ride." Cowper.

Webster 1913

• noun the practice of adopting the clothes or the manner or the sexual role of the opposite sex
  transvestitism; transvestism.
  

WordNet

• (Her.). a cross, each of whose arms is pointed like the ray of a star; that is, a star having four long points only.

Webster 1913

• verb question closely, or question a witness that has already been questioned by the opposing side
  cross examine.
  
  • The witness was cross-examined by the defense

WordNet

• the fertilization of the female products of one physiological individual by the male products of another, as the fertilization of the ovules of one plant by pollen from another. See Fertilization.

Webster 1913

• a double convex file, used in dressing out the arms or crosses of fine wheells.

Webster 1913

• (Mil.), lines of fire, from two or more points or places, crossing each other.

Webster 1913

• . (Her.) See under Forked.

Webster 1913

• . See under Frog.

Webster 1913

• a furrow or trench cut across other furrows to receive the water running in them and conduct it to the side of the field.

Webster 1913

• noun either of two fine mutually perpendicular lines that cross in the focus plane of an optical instrument and are use for sighting or calibration
  cross hair; cross wire.
  
  • he had the target in his cross hairs

WordNet

• a handle attached transversely to the axis of a tool, as in the augur. Knight.

Webster 1913

• noun an infection that is acquired at a hospital or other healthcare facility
  nonsocial infection.
  

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• (Mining), a vein intersecting the true or principal lode.

Webster 1913

• noun a Latin cross set on three steps
  Calvary cross.
  

WordNet

• . See Calvary, 3.

Webster 1913

• noun a cross with two crossbars, one above and one below the midpoint of the vertical, the lower longer than the upper
  cross of Lorraine.
  

WordNet

• verb remove from a list
  strike out; mark; strike off; cross off.
  
  • Cross the name of the dead person off the list

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• verb make the sign of the cross; in the Catholic religion
  

WordNet

• verb remove from a list
  strike out; mark; strike off; cross off.
  
  • Cross the name of the dead person off the list

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• noun a vector that is the product of two other vectors
  vector product.
  

WordNet

• . See Cross-purpose, in the Vocabulary.

Webster 1913

• verb question closely, or question a witness that has already been questioned by the opposing side
  cross examine.
  
  • The witness was cross-examined by the defense

WordNet

• a reference made from one part of a book or register to another part, where the same or an allied subject is treated of.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), a chopping sea, in which the waves run in contrary directions.

Webster 1913

• noun a section created by a plane cutting a solid perpendicular to its longest axis
  
• noun a sample meant to be representative of a whole population
  
• noun (physics) the probability that a particular interaction (as capture or ionization) will take place between particles; measured in barns
  

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• noun a street intersecting a main street (usually at right angles) and continuing on both sides of it
  

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• a line or stroke across something, as across the letter t.

Webster 1913

• noun a crosspiece spreading the gunnels of a boat; used as a seat in a rowboat
  thwart.
  

WordNet

• noun woody flowering vine of southern United States; stems show a cross in transverse section
  Bignonia capreolata; quarter-vine; quartervine; trumpet flower.
  

WordNet

• a side wind; an unfavorable wind.

Webster 1913

• noun either of two fine mutually perpendicular lines that cross in the focus plane of an optical instrument and are use for sighting or calibration
  cross hair; cross wire.
  
  • he had the target in his cross hairs

WordNet

• noun either of two fine mutually perpendicular lines that cross in the focus plane of an optical instrument and are use for sighting or calibration
  cross hair; cross wire.
  
  • he had the target in his cross hairs

WordNet

• fine wires made to traverse the field of view in a telescope, and moved by a screw with a graduated head, used for delicate astronomical observations; spider lines. Fixed cross wires are also used in microscopes, etc.

Webster 1913

Cross"-armed` adjective

Definitions

1. With arms crossed.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite (of snakes) having crossing bands on the back
  

WordNet

Cross"-band`ed adjective

Definitions

1. A term used when a narrow ribbon of veneer is inserted into the surfase of any piece of furniture, wainscoting, etc., so that the grain of it is contrary to the general surface.

Webster 1913

Cross"-bear`er noun

Definitions

1. (R.C.Ch.) A subdeacon who bears a cross before an archbishop or primate on solemn occasions.

Webster 1913

Cross"-birth` noun

Definitions

1. (Med.) Any preternatural labor, in whiche the boly of the child lies across the pelvis of the mother, so that the shoulder, arm, or trunk is the part first presented at the mouth of the uterus.

Webster 1913

Cross"-bun` noun

Definitions

1. A bun or cake marked with a cross, and intended to be eaten on Good Friday.

Webster 1913

• verb check out conflicting sources; crosscheck facts, for example
  

WordNet

• noun classification according to more than one attribute at the same time
  cross-classification.
  
  • the cross-classification of cases was done by age and sex

WordNet

• adverb not following tracks or roads
  
  • they liked to race cross-country
• adverb across the countryside
  
  • the river runs cross-country
  • the road runs cross-country

WordNet

• noun riding horses across country over obstructions to demonstrate horsemanship
  cross-country jumping.
  

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• noun riding horses across country over obstructions to demonstrate horsemanship
  cross-country jumping.
  

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• noun the sport of skiing across the countryside (rather than downhill)
  

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Cross`-cross"let noun

Definitions

1. (Her.) A cross having the three upper ends crossed, so as to from three small crosses.

Webster 1913

• adjective dealing with or comparing two or more cultures
  
  • a cross-cultural survey

WordNet

Cross"-days` noun plural

Definitions

1. (Eccl.) The three days preceding the Feast of the Ascension.

Webster 1913

• noun classification according to more than one attribute at the same time
  cross-classification.
  
  • the cross-classification of cases was done by age and sex

WordNet

• verb dress in the clothes of the other sex
  

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• noun someone who adopts the dress or manner or sexual role of the opposite sex
  transvestite.
  

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• noun (law) close questioning of a hostile witness in a court of law to discredit or throw a new light on the testimony already provided in direct examination
  

WordNet

Cross"-ex*am`i*na"tion noun

Definitions

1. (Low) The interrogating or questioning of a witness by the party against whom he has been called and examined. See Examination.

Webster 1913

Cross"-ex*am"ine transitive verb

Wordforms

Definitions

1. (Low) To examine or question, as a witness who has been called and examined by the opposite party. "The opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses." Kent.

Webster 1913

• noun someone who questions a witness carefully (especially about testimony given earlier)
  cross-examiner.
  

WordNet

Cross"-ex*am"in*er noun

Definitions

1. One who cross-examines or conducts a crosse-examination.

Webster 1913

• noun strabismus in which one or both eyes turn inward toward the nose
  convergent strabismus; cross-eye; esotropia.
  

WordNet

Cross"-eye` noun

Definitions

1. See Strabismus.

Webster 1913

• adjective having convergent strabismus
  

WordNet

Cross"-eyed` adjective

Definitions

1. Affected with strabismus; squint-eyed; squinting.

Webster 1913

• noun fertilization by the union of male and female gametes from different individual of the same species
  cross-fertilisation.
  
• noun interchange between different cultures or different ways of thinking that is mutually productive and beneficial
  cross-fertilisation.
  
  • the cross-fertilization of science and the creative arts

WordNet

• verb undergo cross-fertilization; become fertile
  cross-fertilise.
  
• verb cause to undergo cross-fertilization
  cross-fertilise.
  
  • Mendel cross-fertilized different kinds of beans

WordNet

• noun fertilization by the union of male and female gametes from different individual of the same species
  cross-fertilisation.
  
• noun interchange between different cultures or different ways of thinking that is mutually productive and beneficial
  cross-fertilisation.
  
  • the cross-fertilization of science and the creative arts

WordNet

• verb undergo cross-fertilization; become fertile
  cross-fertilise.
  
• verb cause to undergo cross-fertilization
  cross-fertilise.
  
  • Mendel cross-fertilized different kinds of beans

WordNet

• verb have one's name listed as a candidate for several parties
  register.
  

WordNet

• noun a waterway used by small boats to travel between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico through Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee_Canal and the Caloosahatchee River
  Okeechobee Waterway.
  

WordNet

Cross"-gar`net noun

Definitions

1. A hinge having one strap perpendicular and the other strap horizontal giving it the form of an Egyptian or T cross.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite difficult to deal with
  contrarious.
  
• adjective satellite of timber; having fibers running irregularly rather than in parallel
  wavy-grained; curly-grained.
  

WordNet

• noun a reference at one place in a work to information at another place in the same work
  cross-index.
  
• verb make an index that refers from one point to the next
  
  • These references are cross-indexed

WordNet

• noun dwarf European shrub with rose-colored flowers
  Erica tetralix; bell heather.
  

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• adverb with the legs crossed
  
  • he sat on the floor cross-legged and meditated

WordNet

• adjective relating to different languages
  
  • cross-linguistic evidence

WordNet

• adverb by comparing languages
  
  • she studied the phenomenon cross-linguistically

WordNet

• noun a side bond that links two adjacent chains of atoms in a complex molecule
  cross-link.
  
• verb join by creating covalent bonds (of adjacent chains of a polymer or protein)
  

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• noun a side bond that links two adjacent chains of atoms in a complex molecule
  cross-link.
  

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• adjective relating to different sense modalities
  

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Cross"-pawl` noun

Definitions

1. (Shipbuilding) Same as Cross-spale.

Webster 1913

• adjective of or relating to an older kind of automobile tire that had a flexible tread and relatively stiff sidewalls
  

WordNet

• verb fertilize by transfering pollen
  pollenate; cross-pollinate; pollinate.
  

WordNet

• verb fertilize by transfering pollen
  pollenate; cross-pollinate; pollinate.
  
• adjective of or relating to or characteristic of cross-pollination
  

WordNet

• noun fertilization by transfer of pollen from the anthers of one flower to the stigma of another
  
• noun stimulating influence among diverse elements
  
  • the cross-pollination of the arts

WordNet

• noun a contrary aim
  
  • at cross-purposes

WordNet

Cross"-pur`pose noun

Definitions

1. A counter or opposing purpose; hence, that which is inconsistent or contradictory. Shaftesbury.
2. pl. A conversational game, in which questions and answers are made so as to involve ludicrous combinations of ideas. Pepys.

Webster 1913

• noun a question asked in cross-examination
  

WordNet

Cross"-ques`tion transitive verb

Wordforms

Definitions

1. To cross-examine; to subject to close questioning.

Webster 1913

• noun someone who questions a witness carefully (especially about testimony given earlier)
  cross-examiner.
  

WordNet

Cross"-read`ing noun

Definitions

1. The reading of the lines of a newspaper directly across the page, instead of down the columns, thus producing a ludicrous combination of ideas.

Webster 1913

• verb refer from one entry to another, as in catalogues, books, and lists
  

WordNet

• noun a reference at one place in a work to information at another place in the same work
  cross-index.
  

WordNet

• adjective satellite representing a plane made by cutting across something at right angles to its length
  cross-section.
  
  • cross-section views of the neck

WordNet

• adjective of or relating to a cross section
  
  • a cross-sectional slice
• adjective satellite representing a plane made by cutting across something at right angles to its length
  cross-section.
  
  • cross-section views of the neck

WordNet

• adjective of or relating to relations between sentences
  

WordNet

• adjective satellite shaped in the form of a cross
  

WordNet

Cross"-spale`, Cross"-spall` noun (Also<

• Cross-spale
• Cross-spall

)

Etymology

Definitions

1. (Shipbuilding) One of the temporary wooden braces, placed horizontally across a frame to hold it in position until the deck beams are in; a cross-pawl.

Webster 1913

Cross"-spring`er noun

Definitions

1. (Arch.) One of the ribs in a groined arch, springing from the corners in a diagonal direction. See Illustr. of Groined vault.

Webster 1913

Cross"-staff` noun

Definitions

1. An instrument formerly used at sea for taking the altitudes of celestial bodies.
2. A surveyor's instrument for measuring offsets.

Webster 1913

• noun two stitches forming a cross or X
  
• noun embroidery done with pairs of stitches that cross each other
  

WordNet

Cross"-stitch` noun

Definitions

1. A form of stitch, where the stitches are diagonal and in pairs, the thread of one stitch crossing that of the other. "Tent and cross-stitch." Sir W. Scott. -- Cross"-stitch`, v. t. & v. i.

Webster 1913

Cross"-stone` noun

Definitions

1. (Min.) See Harmotome, and Staurotide.

Webster 1913

Cross"-tail` noun

Definitions

1. (Steam Engine) A bar connecting the ends of the side rods or levers of a backaction or side-lever engine.

Webster 1913

Cross"-tie` noun

Definitions

1. (Railroad) A sleeper supporting and connecting the rails, and holding them in place.

Webster 1913

Cross"-tin`ing noun

Definitions

1. (Agric.) A mode of harrowing crosswise, or transversely to the ridges. Crabb.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite going or extending across a town or city
  crosstown.
  
  • the crosstown bus
  • crosstown traffic

WordNet

Cross"-vault`ing noun

Definitions

1. (Arch.) Vaulting formed by the intersection of two or more simple vaults.

Webster 1913

Cross"-week` noun

Definitions

1. Rogation week, when the cross was borne in processions.

Webster 1913

• noun strabismus in which one or both eyes turn inward toward the nose
  convergent strabismus; cross-eye; esotropia.
  

WordNet

• noun someone who helps people (especially children) at a traffic crossing
  

WordNet

• noun the interchange of sections between pairing homologous chromosomes during the prophase of meiosis
  crossover.
  

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• noun hybridization using two traits with two alleles each
  

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• noun a United States Air Force decoration for heroism while participating in an aerial flight
  

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• noun a United States Army decoration for extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy
  

WordNet

• noun an act of betrayal
  double cross.
  
  • he gave us the old double cross
  • I could no longer tolerate his impudent double-crossing
• verb betray by double-dealing
  

WordNet

• noun a person who says one thing and does another
  traitor; betrayer; double-dealer; two-timer.
  

WordNet

• noun an act of betrayal
  double cross.
  
  • he gave us the old double cross
  • I could no longer tolerate his impudent double-crossing

WordNet

• . See Illust. (No. 6) of Cross.

Webster 1913

• a cross constructed of two firebrands, and pitched upon the point of a spear; formerly in Scotland borne by a runner as a signal for the clan to take up arms.

Webster 1913

• . See Fiery cross. Obs. Milton.

Webster 1913

• (Mil.), a red Greek cross on a white ground; the flag and badge adopted in the Geneva convention.

Webster 1913

• noun intersection of a railway and a road on the same level; barriers close road when trains pass
  grade crossing.
  

WordNet

• a crossing at grade.

Webster 1913

• . (a) The highest rank of knighthood in the Order of the Bath. (b) A knight grand cross.

Webster 1913

• noun a cross with each of the four arms the same length
  

WordNet

• . See Illust. (10) Of Cross.

Webster 1913

• noun a single cross stitch at a diagonal
  

WordNet

Ho"ly cross"

Definitions

1. The cross as the symbol of Christ's crucifixion.

Webster 1913

• the fourteenth of September, observed as a church festival, in memory of the exaltation of our Savior's cross.

Webster 1913

• noun moderately sweet raised roll containing spices and raisins and citron and decorated with a cross-shaped sugar glaze
  cross bun.
  

WordNet

• (Eccl.), a festival celebrated May 3d, in honor of the finding of our Savior's cross by St. Helena.

Webster 1913

• a Prussian order of military merit; also, the decoration of the order.

Webster 1913

• noun a cross with equal arms, each terminating in a small crossbar
  

WordNet

• different classes of the Order of the Bath. See under Bath, and Companion.

Webster 1913

• noun a cross with the lowest arm being longer than the others
  

WordNet

• . See Illust. 1 of Cross.

Webster 1913

• noun intersection of a railway and a road on the same level; barriers close road when trains pass
  grade crossing.
  

WordNet

• noun a cross with two crossbars, one above and one below the midpoint of the vertical, the lower longer than the upper
  cross of Lorraine.
  

WordNet

• noun low shrubby plant having yellow flowers with four petals arranged in a cross; Bermuda and southeastern United States to West Indies and eastern Mexico
  Hypericum hypericoides.
  

WordNet

• noun Eurasian garden perennial having scarlet flowers in dense terminal heads
  Lychins chalcedonica; scarlet lychnis.
  
• noun a cross with triangular or arrow-shaped arms and the points toward the center
  

WordNet

• . See Illust. 5, of Cross.

Webster 1913

• noun a cross-shaped monument set up in the marketplace of a town where public business is often conducted
  

WordNet

• a cross set up where a market is held. Shak.

Webster 1913

• noun hybridization using a single trait with two alleles (as in Mendel's experiments with garden peas)
  

WordNet

• noun a United States Navy decoration for extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy
  

WordNet

• noun a cluster of 5 bright stars forming a cross in the constellation Cygnus
  

WordNet

• noun a game in which two players alternately put crosses and circles in one of the compartments of a square grid of nine spaces; the object is to get a row of three crosses or three circles before the opponent does
  tic-tac-toe; ticktacktoe; tick-tack-toe; ticktacktoo; tit-tat-toe.
  

WordNet

• noun a cross with three crossbars
  

WordNet

• . See Illust. 3 of Cross.

Webster 1913

• (of an optical instrument), their apparent displacement when the eye changes its position, caused by their not being exactly in the focus of the object glass.

Webster 1913

• noun a cross with two crossbars
  

WordNet

• (Her.), a cross, the shaft of which is intersected by two transverse beams, the upper one being the smaller. See Illust. (2) of Cross.

Webster 1913

• (Eccl.), a cross worn on the breast by bishops and abbots, and sometimes also by canons.

Webster 1913

• noun street crossing where pedestrians have right of way; often marked in some way (especially with diagonal stripes)
  pedestrian crossing.
  

WordNet

• noun an acronym for pedestrian light control; a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights that are controlled by pedestrians
  

WordNet

• a cross, sometimes surmounting a pulpit, erected out of doors to designate a preaching place.

Webster 1913

• a cross which has the extremities of the arms bent back at right angles, as in the fylfot.

Webster 1913

• noun hybridization involving a pair of crosses that reverse the sexes associated with each genotype
  reciprocal.
  

WordNet

• noun an international organization that cares for the sick or wounded or homeless in wartime
  

WordNet

• . The cross of St. George, the national emblem of the English. (b) The Geneva cross. See Geneva convention, and Geneva cross, under Geneva.

Webster 1913

• . See the Note under Rosicrucian, n.

Webster 1913

• (a) A cross shaped like the letter X . See Illust. 4, under Cross. (b) (Bot.) A low North American shrub (Ascyrum Crux-Andræ, the petals of which have the form of a Saint Andrew's cross. Gray.

Webster 1913

• a T -shaped cross. See Illust. 6, under Cross.

Webster 1913

• (Her.), a Greek cross gules upon a field argent, the field being represented by a narrow fimbriation in the ensign, or union jack, of Great Britain.

Webster 1913

• . See Illust 4, under Cross.

Webster 1913

• noun a pedestrian crossing where school children cross a street on the way to school
  

WordNet

• noun a gesture with the right hand moving to form a cross; used by Catholics as a profession of faith
  

WordNet

• noun a small conspicuous constellation in the southern hemisphere in the Milky Way near Centaurus
  Crux; Crux Australis.
  

WordNet

• . (Astron.) See under Southern.

Webster 1913

• noun shrubby plant having yellow to apricot flowers with four petals arranged in a cross; southeastern United States: New York to Texas
  Hypericum crux andrae.
  

WordNet

• noun a cross resembling the letter x, with diagonal bars of equal length
  saltire.
  

WordNet

• noun cross resembling the Greek letter tau
  St. Anthony's cross.
  

WordNet

Star"-crossed` adjective

Definitions

1. Not favored by the stars; ill-fated. Poetic Shak.

   Such in my star-crossed destiny. Massinger.

Webster 1913

• noun a representation of any of the 14 stages in Christ's journey to Calvary
  

WordNet

• noun (Roman Catholic Church) a devotion consisting of fourteen prayers said before a series of fourteen pictures or carvings representing successive incidents during Jesus' passage from Pilate's house to his crucifixion at Calvary
  Stations.
  

WordNet

• noun cross resembling the Greek letter tau
  St. Anthony's cross.
  

WordNet

• . See Illust. 6, of Cross.

Webster 1913

• noun a cross between an organism whose genotype for a certain trait is unknown and an organism that is homozygous recessive for that trait so the unknown genotype can be determined from that of the offspring
  testcross.
  

WordNet

• to misunderstand or to act counter to one another without intending it; said of persons.

Webster 1913

• to oppose one's plans.

Webster 1913

• to forbear or give up the contest; a phrase borrowed from the practice of cudgel players, who lay one cudgel over another when the contest is ended.

Webster 1913

• to cross the equator, as a vessel at sea.

Webster 1913

• to act dishonestly; opposed to acting on the square. Slang

Webster 1913

• to go across the fields; totake a short cut. Colloq.

Webster 1913

• to bear troubles and afflictions with patience from love to Christ.

Webster 1913

• noun a British military decoration for gallantry
  

WordNet

• a bronze Maltese cross, awarded for valor to members of the British army or navy. It was first bestowed in 1857, at the close of the Crimean war. The recipients also have a pension of £10 a year.

Webster 1913

• (Eccl.), the course taken in visiting in rotation the stations of the cross. See Station, n., 7 (c).

Webster 1913

• a cross erected on or by the highway, especially for the devotions of penitents; hence, to return by the weeping cross, to return from some undertaking in humiliation or penitence.

Webster 1913

• noun street crossing where pedestrians have right of way; often marked in some way (especially with diagonal stripes)
  pedestrian crossing.
  

WordNet