Jerusalem cross

American  

noun

1. a cross whose four arms are each capped with a crossbar and often with a small Greek cross centered in each quadrant.

2. scarlet lychnis.

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Jerusalem cross British  

noun

1. Also called: cross potent.  a cross the equal arms of which end in a bar

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Etymology

Origin of Jerusalem cross

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

The most popular images remain variations of the Jerusalem cross, an emblem of the crusades that is a cross of four equal sides with four smaller crosses drawn in each of its quadrants.

From New York Times • Apr. 15, 2022

It was a black and red Jerusalem cross, made up of one central cross and four smaller ones, adorned with palm trees and the number 2017, representing his pilgrimage and the year his mother died.

From Reuters • Dec. 20, 2017

It was a black and red Jerusalem cross, made up of one central cross and four smaller ones, adorned with palm trees and the number 2017, representing his pilgrimage and the year his mother died.

From Reuters • Dec. 20, 2017

After the central portion of the ground work for the painting was smoothed off a Jerusalem cross was drawn in black.

From Ceremonial of Hasjelti Dailjis and Mythical Sand Painting of the Navajo Indians by Stevenson, James

Four tau-crosses joined foot to foot form a "Jerusalem cross."

From The Worship of the Church and The Beauty of Holiness by Regester, J. A. (Jacob Asbury)