Smith’s Bible Dictionary, William Smith, 1884
Easton's Bible Dictionary, Matthew George Easton, 1897CROSS
As the emblem of a slave's death and a murderer's punishment, the cross was naturally looked upon with the profoundest horror. But after the celebrated vision of Constantine, he ordered his friends to make a cross of gold and gems, such as he had seen, and "the towering eagles resigned the flags unto the cross," and "the tree of cursing and shame" "sat upon the sceptres and was engraved and signed on the foreheads of kings." (Jer. Taylor, "Life of Christ," iii., xv. 1.) The new standards were called by the name Labarum, and may be seen on the coins of Constantine the Great and his nearer successors. The Latin cross on which our Lord suffered, was in the form of the letter T, and had an upright above the cross-bar, on which the "title" was placed. There was a projection from the central stem, on which the body of the sufferer rested. This was to prevent the weight of the body from tearing away the hands. Whether there was also a support to the feet (as we see in pictures) is doubtful. An inscription was generally placed above the criminal's head, briefly expressing his guilt, and generally was carried before him. It was covered with white gypsum, and the letter were black.
Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language, 1828Cross
In the New Testament the instrument of crucifixion, and hence used for the crucifixion of Christ itself (Eph 2:16; Heb 12:2; 1Co 1:17, 18; Gal 5:11; Gal 6:12, 14; Php 3:18). The word is also used to denote any severe affliction or trial (Mat 10:38; Mat 16:24; Mark 8:34; Mark 10:21).
The forms in which the cross is represented are these:
1. The crux simplex (I), a "single piece without transom."
2. The crux decussata (X), or St. Andrew's cross.
3. The crux commissa (T), or St. Anthony's cross.
4. The crux immissa (t), or Latin cross, which was the kind of cross on which our Saviour died. Above our Lord's head, on the projecting beam, was placed the "title." (See CRUCIFIXION.)
After the conversion, so-called, of Constantine the Great (B.C. 313), the cross first came into use as an emblem of Christianity. He pretended at a critical moment that he saw a flaming cross in the heavens bearing the inscription, "In hoc signo vinces", i.e., By this sign thou shalt conquer, and that on the following night Christ himself appeared and ordered him to take for his standard the sign of this cross. In this form a new standard, called the Labarum, was accordingly made, and borne by the Roman armies. It remained the standard of the Roman army till the downfall of the Western empire. It bore the embroidered monogram of Christ, i.e., the first two Greek letters of his name, X and P (chi and rho), with the Alpha and Omega. (See A.) Labarum
Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, 1856CROSS, noun [G., Latin ]
1. A gibbet consisting of two pieces of timber placed across each other, either in form of a T or of an X. That on which our Savior suffered, is represented on coins and other monuments, to have been of the former kind.
2. The ensign of the Christian religion; and hence figuratively, the religion itself.
3. A monument with a cross upon it to excite devotion, such as were anciently set in market places.
4. Any thing in the form of a cross or gibbet.
5. A line drawn through another.
6. Any thing that thwarts, obstructs, or perplexes; hindrance; vexation; misfortune; opposition; trial of patience.
Heaven prepares good men with crosses.
7. Money or coin stamped with the figure of a cross
8. The right side or face of a coin, stamped with a cross
9. The mark of a cross instead of a signature, on a deed, formerly impressed by those who could not write.
10. Church lands in Ireland.
11. In theology, the suffering of Christ by crucifixion.
That he might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross Ephesians 2:16.
12. The doctrine of Christs sufferings and of the atonement, or of salvation by Christ.
The preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness. 1 Corinthians 1:17. Galatians 5:11.
To take up the cross is to submit to troubles and afflictions from love to Christ.
13. In mining, two nicks cut in the surface of the earth, thus +.
Black’s Law Dictionary, 1st Edition, 1891, 2nd Edition, 1910CROSS. contracts.
1. A mark made by persons who are unable to write, instead of their names.
2. When properly attested, and proved to have been made by the party whose name is written with the mark, it is generally admitted as evidence of the party's signature.
The Century Dictionary, an Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, 1895CROSS.
A mark made by persons who are unable to write, to stand instead of a signature; usually made in the form of a Maltese cross.
As an adjective, the word is applied to various demands and proceedings which are connected in subject-matter, but opposite or contradictory in purpose or object.
(More on these crosses individually later)
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, 1919
Ballentine’s Law Dictionary, James A. Ballentine, Third Edition, 1969Cross1 (-aw-, -o-), n.
Stake (usu. with transverse bar) used by the ancients for crucifixion, esp. that on which Christ was crucified ; model of this as religious emblem ; sign of c. made with right hand as religious act ; staff surmounted with c. & borne before archbishop or in processions ; c.-bearer, person who carries this ; monument in form of c, esp. (also market-c.) one in centre of town ; Christian religion ; trial, affliction ; annoyance; c. -shaped thing; (Southern) C, a constellation ; Greek c. (upright with limbs of equal length) ; Latin c. (with long lower limb) ; St Andrew's c. (like X) ; Tau c, c. of St Anthony, (like T) ; Maltese c. (with equal limbs, narrow where they join & widening out towards outer extremities, which are indented) ; fiery c, Scotch signal (orig. two bloody sticks) sent through district to rouse inhabitants ; decoration in orders of knighthood (Grand C, highest degree of this ; Victoria C, decoration for personal valour) ;
Black’s Law Dictionary, 4th Edition, 1968, 5th Edition, 1979cross.
The symbol of the Christian Faith: the mark which a voter uses in expressing his choice of a candidate whose name appears upon a written ballot, any kind of a cross being sufficient for this purpose, the only requirement being that two lines cross one another at a common center. Winn v Blackman. 229 III 198. 82 NE 215.
William Cooper's Mystery Babylon: 35 – From Babylon to ChristianityCROSS.
A mark made by persons who are unable to write, to stand instead of a signature. A mark usually in the form of an X, by which voters are commonly required to express their selection. There are four principal forms of the cross: The St. Andrew's cross, which is made in the form of an X ; the Latin cross, t, as used in the crucifixion; St. Anthony's cross, which is made in the form of a T; and the Greek cross, +, which is made by the intersection at right angles of lines at their center point. Hunt v. Campbell, 19 Ariz. 254, 169 P. 596, 610.
https://deceivedworld.blogspot.com/2010 ... -from.htmlIn those early days of the real Church -- the real Church, Christ's Church, who practiced exactly what he taught them -- great, great changes began to take place that have affected us right up to this very day. What a shock it must have been when Constantine professed a conversion to Christianity after stating that he'd seen the vision of a cross in the sky. And some accounts say that he didn't see it in the sky during daylight, that he saw it in a dream. And ladies and gentlemen, because he never accepted Christ during his entire life, and in fact was a pagan sun worshiper, I question whether he ever saw a cross at all. You see, because history says and records very clearly, that Constantine never accepted Christ as his savior. He never really followed the teachings of Christ. He was, in fact, a sun worshiper He practiced the Mystery Religion of Babylon. But he was, in fact, the Emperor of Rome. Rome very quickly became, ladies and gentlemen, the Catholic Church, and the Roman Emperor became the Pope. He had to do this to save the Empire.
The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, 1853
The Sign of the Cross, reprinted from Chapter V, Section VI
The Works of Flavius Josephus.
8. On the next day, when the Philistines came to strip their enemies that were slain, they got the bodies of Saul and of his sons, and stripped them, and cut off their heads; and they sent messengers all about their country, to acquaint them that their enemies were fallen; and they dedicated their armor in the temple of Astarte, but hung their bodies on crosses at the walls of the city Bethshun, which is now called Scythepolls.
Some time after this [two eunuchs], Bigthan and Teresh, plotted against the king; and Barnabazus, the servant of one of the eunuchs, being by birth a Jew, was acquainted with their conspiracy, and discovered it to the queen's uncle; and Mordecai, by the means of Esther, made the conspirators known to the king. This troubled the king; but he discovered the truth, and hanged the eunuchs upon a cross, while at that time he gave no reward]: to Mordecai, who had been the occasion of his preservation.
But my will is, that those who disobey these injunctions, and make them void, shall be hung upon a cross, and their substance brought into the king's treasury."