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crucifer

[kroo-suh-fer]
noun
  1. a person who carries a cross, as in ecclesiastical processions.
  2. Botany. a cruciferous plant.
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Origin of crucifer

1565–75; < Late Latin, equivalent to Latin cruci- (stem of crux) cross + -fer -fer
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for crucifer

Historical Examples

  • What fees were bestowed on his crucifer, marshall, and other servants.

    Bibliomania; or Book-Madness

    Thomas Frognall Dibdin

  • A few new species of Crucifer and Astragalus were obtained on the ridge.

  • The flower and stamens and pistil of the Sea-kale, to illustrate the Crucifer.

  • When reared in captivity it will thrive on other kinds of Crucifer.

  • It lives in groups on the cabbages in gardens, and on many other Crucifer.

    The Insect World

    Louis Figuier

British Dictionary definitions for crucifer

crucifer

noun
  1. any plant of the family Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae), having a corolla of four petals arranged like a cross and a fruit called a siliqua. The family includes the brassicas, mustard, cress, and wallflower
  2. a person who carries a cross
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Derived Formscruciferous (kruːˈsɪfərəs), adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Late Latin, from Latin crux cross + ferre to carry
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
crucifer in Science

crucifer

[krōō′sə-fər]
  1. Any of various plants in the mustard family (Cruciferae or Brassicaceae), including many important food plants, such as bok choy, cabbage, and radishes, as well as certain ornamental flowers.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.