cross bearer
cross bearer noun: a person who carries a cross in a Christian religious procession.
Noun
cross bearer (plural cross bearers)
- A person who carries a cross in a Christian religious procession.
- He was at the head of a splendid train of religious, civil and military men, mingled together, or, as the old ballad maker expresses it,
"With many a cross bearer before,
And many a spear behind."1823, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 18, in Quentin Durward - Behind the verger walked a cross-bearer, the Canterbury choristers and seven decrepit beadsmen. Behind the decrepit beadsmen came a long array of Canterbury canons, chaplains and dignitaries in all their robes, followed by pages carrying the maces of Canterbury and York and the cross of Canterbury.1942 May 4, “Religion: Canterbury Pilgrim”, in Time, retrieved 28 Oct 2015
- Synonyms:
- crucifer
- He was at the head of a splendid train of religious, civil and military men, mingled together, or, as the old ballad maker expresses it,
Synonyms of cross bearer
Forms of cross bearer
| plural | cross bearers |
|---|---|
| alternative form | crossbearer |
| alternative form | cross-bearer |
Questions about cross bearer
- What does cross bearer mean?
- Cross bearer means a person who carries a cross in a Christian religious procession.
- What part of speech is cross bearer?
- Cross bearer is a noun.
- What is the plural of cross bearer?
- The plural of cross bearer is cross bearers.
Words near cross bearer in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: cross bearer (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “cross bearer.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cross_bearer. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.