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crosier

American  
[kroh-zher] / ˈkroʊ ʒər /
Or crozier

noun

  1. a ceremonial staff carried by a bishop or an abbot, hooked at one end like a shepherd's crook.

  2. Botany. the circinate young frond of a fern.


crosier British  
/ ˈkrəʊʒə /

noun

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

  2. the tip of a young plant, esp a fern frond, that is coiled into a hook

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of crosier

1350–1400; short for crosier-staff; Middle English crosier staff-bearer < Middle French; replacing Middle English crocer < Anglo-French. See crosse, -er 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Benedict has been laying in state without any papal regalia, such as a crosier, a silver staff with a crucifix, or a pallium, a band of cloth worn around the neck worn by archdiocesan bishops.

From Reuters Jan. 3, 2023

A miter and crosier nestle in a back niche that echoes the Scuola degli Schiavoni’s own architecture.

From New York Times Dec. 9, 2022

The job is less about the hat and more about the bishop’s crosier - the staff that symbolizes a shepherd’s crook.

From Washington Times Dec. 23, 2020

He withdraws a bent cross crosier from a nearby cupboard and lays it next to the original on which it was modelled.

From The Guardian Sep. 10, 2016

He was a silk-haired senior, with his cope and crosier, alb and ring —urbane, ecclesiastical, knowing the spiritual power.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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