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{{Short description|Religious symbol}}
{{For-multi|the Christian symbol|Christian cross|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
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[[File:Cross2.svg|thumb|150px|A ''Greek cross'' (all arms of equal length) above a ''[[saltire]]'', a cross whose limbs are slanted]]

A '''cross''' is a [[religious symbol]] consisting of two [[Intersection (set theory)|intersecting]] [[Line (geometry)|lines]], usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter [[X]], is termed a [[saltire]] in heraldic terminology.

The cross shape has been widely officially recognized as an absolute religious symbol of [[Christianity]] exclusively from an early period in that religion's history.<ref>{{cite book|author=Rebecca Stein, Philip L. Stein|title=The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft|page=62|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|quote=The cross is a symbol most clearly associated with Christianity.}}</ref><ref name=McGrath321 >[https://books.google.com/books?id=v26doW8jIyYC&pg=PT261 ''Christianity: an introduction''] by Alister E. McGrath 2006 {{ISBN|1-4051-0901-7}} pages 321-323</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Cross: Its History and Symbolism|page=11|author=George Willard Benson}}</ref> Before then, it was used as a religious or cultural symbol throughout [[Europe]], in [[West Asia|west]] and [[south Asia]] (the latter, in the form of the original [[Swastika]]); and in [[Ancient Egypt]], where the [[Ankh]] was a hieroglyph that represented "life" and was used in the worship of the god [[Aten]]. It often appeared in conjunction with the female-genital circle or oval, to signify the sacred marriage, as in Egyptian amulet [[Nefer]]<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/571948| title = Nefer}}</ref> with male cross and female orb, considered as an [[amulet]] of blessedness, a charm of sexual harmony.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets|last=Walker|first=Barbara G.|publisher=Harper & Row, Publishers|year=1983|location=San Francisco|pages=188}}</ref>

== Name == 
The word ''[[:wikt:cross|cross]]'' is recorded in 11th-century [[Old English]] as ''cros'', exclusively for the instrument of [[Crucifixion of Jesus|Christ's crucifixion]], replacing the native Old English word ''[[rood]]''. The word's history is complicated; it appears to have entered English from [[Old Irish]], possibly via [[Old Norse]], ultimately from the Latin {{wikt-lang|la|crux}} (or its accusative {{lang|la|crucem}} and its genitive {{lang|la|crucis}}), "stake, cross". The English verb ''to cross'' arises from the noun {{circa|1200}}, first in the sense "to make the sign of the cross"; the generic meaning "to intersect" develops in the 15th century. The Latin word was influenced by [[popular etymology]] by a native Germanic word reconstructed as *''krukjo'' (English ''[[:wikt:crook|crook]]'', Old English {{lang|ang|crycce}}, Old Norse {{lang|non|krokr}}, Old High German {{lang|goh|krucka}}). This word, by conflation with Latin {{lang|la|crux}}, gave rise to Old French {{lang|fro|crocier}} (modern French {{wikt-lang|fr|crosse}}), the term for a [[shepherd's crook]], adopted in English as ''[[crosier]]''.

Latin {{lang|la|crux}} referred to the [[gibbet]] where criminals were executed, a stake or pole, with or without {{linktext|transom}}, on which the condemned were impaled or hanged, but more particularly a cross or the pole of a carriage.<ref>Lewis and Short, ''[[A Latin Dictionary]]'': [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DC%3Aentry+group%3D117%3Aentry%3Dcrux crux]</ref> The derived verb {{wikt-lang|la|crucio|cruciāre}} means "to put to death on the cross" or, more frequently, "to put to the rack, to torture, torment", especially in reference to mental troubles.<ref>Lewis and Short, ''[[A Latin Dictionary]]'': [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DC%3Aentry+group%3D116%3Aentry%3Dcrucio crucio]</ref>
{{anchor|furca}}  In the Roman world, {{lang|la|furca}} replaced {{lang|la|crux}} as the name of some cross-like instruments for lethal and temporary punishment,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jensen|first1=Steffen|last2= Rønsbo|first2=Henrik|title=Histories of Victimhood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjQEAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|date= 2014|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-0931-0|page=32|quote= The jurist Julius Paulus, for example, "gives crucifixion (''furca'' = gallows, the word that replaced the 'holy' word cross in legal literature after [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]])” as one punishment for deserters and for betrayers of secrets (Hengel 1977:39; Bauman 1996:151)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Pickering|first=F. P.|title=Essays on Medieval German Literature and Iconography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VL6Q8s0SnGcC&pg=PA73|date= 1980|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-22627-1|page=73|quote= According to the article "crux" in [[Pauly-Wissowa]], the old term ''furca'' may have been revived under [[Justinian]] to shield the sacred term from misuse; its shape, the conventional 'gallows', may have been evolved in such a way as to avoid any association with the Christian cross.}}</ref> ranging from a [[forked cross]] to a gibbet or [[gallows]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Rees|first=Abraham|title=The Cyclopædia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9TdOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT148|year=1824|publisher=Samuel F. Bradford|page=148}}</ref>

The field of etymology is of no help in any effort to trace a supposed original meaning of ''crux''.<ref>Gunnar Samuelsson, [http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/books/crux002.pdf ''Crucifixion in Antiquity''] (Mohr Siebeck 2011), p. 203</ref> A ''crux'' can be of various shapes: from a single beam used for impaling or suspending ({{lang|la|[[crux simplex]]}}) to the various composite kinds of cross ({{lang|la|crux compacta}}) made from more beams than one. The latter shapes include not only the traditional †-shaped cross (the {{lang|la|crux immissa}}), but also the T-shaped cross (the {{lang|la|crux commissa}} or [[tau cross]]), which the [[descriptions in antiquity of the execution cross]] indicate as the normal form in use at that time, and the X-shaped cross (the ''crux decussata'' or [[saltire]]).

The Greek equivalent of Latin ''crux'' "stake, gibbet" is {{Transliteration|grc|[[stauros]]}}, found in texts of four centuries or more before the gospels and always in the plural number to indicate a stake or pole. From the first century BC, it is used to indicate an instrument used in executions. The Greek word is used in [[descriptions in antiquity of the execution cross]], which indicate that its normal shape was similar to the Greek letter [[tau]] ([[Τ]]).<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.vi.ii.ix.html| title = The Epistle of Barnabas, IX}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://logoslibrary.org/clement/stromata/611.html| title = Clement of Alexandria, ''The Stromata'', book VI, chapter 11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/tertullian/tertullian.marcionem3.shtml| title = Adversus Marcionem, liber III, cap. XXII}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/luc/wl1/wl110.htm| title = Lucian, ''Trial in the Court of Vowels''}}</ref>

== History ==
===Pre-Christian===
[[File:Radanhaenger-edited.jpg|thumb|Bronze Age "wheel pendants" in the shape of the "[[sun cross]]" ([[Urnfield culture]], 2nd millennium BC).]]

Due to the simplicity of the design (two intersecting lines), cross-shaped incisions make their appearance from deep prehistory; as [[petroglyph]]s in European [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] caves, dating back to the beginning of the [[Upper Paleolithic]], and throughout prehistory to the [[Iron Age]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bailey|first= Douglass W.|title=Prehistoric figurines : representation and corporeality in the Neolithic|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-203-39245-0|location=London|oclc=252740876}}</ref>
Also of prehistoric age are numerous variants of the simple cross mark, including the ''[[swastika|crux gammata]]'' with curving or angular lines, and the Egyptian ''[[ankh|crux ansata]]'' with a loop.

Speculation has associated the cross symbol – even in the prehistoric period – with astronomical or cosmological [[symbology]] involving
"[[classical element|four elements]]" (Chevalier, 1997) or the [[cardinal directions|cardinal points]], or the unity of a vertical [[axis mundi]] or celestial pole with the horizontal [[world]] (Koch, 1955). Speculation of this kind became especially popular in the mid- to late-19th century in the context of [[comparative mythology]] seeking to tie [[Christian mythology]] to ancient [[Religious cosmology|cosmological myths]]. Influential works in this vein included
G. de Mortillet (1866),<ref>G. de Mortillet, "Le signe de la croix avant le christianisme", Paris, 1866</ref> L. Müller (1865),<ref>L. Müller, "Ueber Sterne, Kreuze und Kränze als religiöse Symbole der alten Kulturvölker", Copenhagen, 1865</ref> W. W. Blake (1888),<ref>W. W. Blake, [https://archive.org/details/crossancientmode00blak "The Cross, Ancient and Modern"] New York, 1888</ref> Ansault (1891),<ref>Ansault, "Mémoire sur le culte de la croix avant Jésus-Christ", Paris, 1891.</ref> etc.

[[File:LAK-617.png|thumb|[[Archaic cuneiform]] character LAK-617 (𒔁): a cruciform arrangement of five boxes; scribes could use the central, larger box as container for other characters.]]

In the [[European Bronze Age]] the cross symbol appeared to carry a [[Prehistoric religion|religious meaning]], perhaps as a symbol of consecration, especially pertaining to burial.<ref>"In the bronze age we meet in different parts of Europe a more accurate representation of the cross, as conceived in Christian art, and in this shape it was soon widely diffused. This more precise characterization coincides with a corresponding general change in customs and beliefs. The cross is now met with, in various forms, on many objects: fibulas, cinctures, earthenware fragments, and on the bottom of drinking vessels. De Mortillet is of opinion that such use of the sign was not merely ornamental, but rather a symbol of consecration, especially in the case of objects pertaining to burial. In the proto-Etruscan cemetery of Golasecca every tomb has a vase with a cross engraved on it. True crosses of more or less artistic design have been found in Tiryns, at Mycenæ, in Crete, and on a fibula from Vulci." O. Marucchi, "Archæology of the Cross and Crucifix", ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' (1908).</ref>

The cross sign occurs trivially in [[tally marks]], and develops into a [[number symbol]] independently in the [[Roman numerals]] (X "ten"), the Chinese [[Counting rods|rod numerals]] ([[:wikt:十|十]] "ten") and the [[Brahmi numerals]] ("four", whence the numeral [[4 (number)|4]]).

In the [[Phoenician alphabet]] and [[Semitic abjad|derived scripts]], the cross symbol represented the phoneme /t/, i.e. the letter [[taw]], which is the historical predecessor of Latin [[T]]. The letter name ''taw'' means "mark", presumably continuing the [[Egyptian hieroglyph]]  "two crossed sticks" ([[List of hieroglyphs/Z|Gardiner Z9]]).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/3_taw.html |title=Taw (Tav) |first1=Jeff A. |last1=Benner |publisher= Ancient Hebrew Research Center |work= The Ancient Hebrew Letters |access-date= 17 June 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150617143555/http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/3_taw.html |archive-date= 17 June 2015 }}</ref>

===Post-Christian===
{{Main|Christian cross|Crucifixion}}
{{Further|Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion|Early Christian symbols|Christogram|Christian cross variants|Cross necklace}}
[[File:Solidus-Leontinus-sb1330.jpg|thumb|Early use of a [[globus cruciger]] on a [[solidus (coin)|solidus]] minted by [[Leontios]] (r. 695–698); on the obverse, a stepped cross in the shape of an [[Iota Eta]] monogram.]]

The shape of the cross (''crux'', ''[[stauros]]'' "stake, [[gibbet]]"), as represented by the Latin letter [[Tau (letter)|T]], came to be used as a new symbol (seal) or emblem of [[Christianity]] since the [[2nd century AD]] to succeeding [[Ichthys]] in aftermaths of that new religion's [[Schism|separation from]] [[Judaism]].<ref>{{cite web |quote=The cross as a Christian symbol or "seal" came into use at least as early since the 2nd century AD (see "Apost. Const." iii. 17; Epistle of Barnabas, xi.-xii.; Justin, "Apologia," i. 55-60; "Dial. cum Tryph." 85-97); and the marking of a cross upon the forehead and the chest was regarded as a talisman against the powers of demons (Tertullian, "De Corona," iii.; Cyprian, "Testimonies," xi. 21-22; Lactantius, "Divinæ Institutiones," iv. 27, and elsewhere). Accordingly the Christian Fathers had to defend themselves, as early as the second century, against the charge of being worshipers of the cross, as may be learned from Tertullian, "Apologia," xii., xvii., and Minucius Felix, "Octavius," xxix. Christians used to swear by the power of the cross |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=899&letter=C  |title=Cross |website=[[Jewish Encyclopaedia]] |first1=Kaufmann  |last1=Kohler |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007032024/http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=899&letter=C |archive-date= Oct 7, 2011 }}</ref> [[Clement of Alexandria]] in the early 3rd century calls it {{lang|grc|τὸ κυριακὸν σημεῖον}} ("the Lord's sign") he repeats the idea, current as early as the [[Epistle of Barnabas]], that the number 318 (in [[Greek numerals]], ΤΙΗ) in Genesis 14:14 was a foreshadowing (a "type") of the cross (the letter Tau) and of Jesus (the letters [[Iota Eta]]).<ref name="CA">{{cite web|url=http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-stromata-book6.html |title=Clement of Alexandria: Stromata, Book 6 |website=Early Christian Writings |access-date=2016-06-18}}</ref> Clement's contemporary [[Tertullian]] rejects the accusation that Christians are  ''crucis religiosi'' (i.e. "adorers of the gibbet"), and returns the accusation by likening the worship of pagan idols to the worship of poles or stakes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0301.htm |title=Church Fathers: Apology (Tertullian) - Chapter 16 |quote=Then, if any of you think we render superstitious adoration to the cross, in that adoration he is sharer with us. If you offer homage to a piece of wood at all, it matters little what it is like when the substance is the same: it is of no consequence the form, if you have the very body of the god. And yet how far does the Athenian Pallas differ from the stock of the cross, or the Pharian Ceres as she is put up uncarved to sale, a mere rough stake and piece of shapeless wood? Every stake fixed in an upright position is a portion of the cross; we render our adoration, if you will have it so, to a god entire and complete. We have shown before that your deities are derived from shapes modelled from the cross. |website=New Advent |translator-first1=S. |translator-last1=Thelwall |date=1885 |editor-first1=Alexander |editor-last1=Roberts |editor-first2=James |editor-last2=Donaldson |editor-first3=A. Cleveland |editor-last3=Coxe |editor-first4=Kevin |editor-last4=Knight |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312152944/https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0301.htm |archive-date= Mar 12, 2024 }} ''Sed et qui crucis nos religiosos putat, consecraneus noster erit. Cum lignum aliquod propitiatur, viderit habitus, dum materiae qualitas eadem sit; viderit forma, dum id ipsum dei corpus sit. Et tamen quanto distinguitur a crucis stipite Pallas Attica, et Ceres Pharia, quae sine effigie rudi palo et informi ligno prostat? Pars crucis est omne robur, quod erecta statione defigitur; nos, si forte, integrum et totum deum colimus. Diximus originem deorum vestrorum a plastis de cruce induci.''</ref>
In his book ''De Corona'', written in 204, Tertullian tells how it was already a tradition for Christians to trace repeatedly on their foreheads the [[sign of the cross]].<ref>"At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, when we put on our clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at table, when we light the lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we trace upon the forehead the sign" ([http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.iv.vi.iii.html ''De Corona'', chapter 3])</ref>

While early Christians used the T-shape to represent the cross in writing and gesture, the use of the [[Greek cross]] and [[Latin cross]], i.e. crosses with intersecting beams, appears in Christian art towards the end of [[Late Antiquity]]. An early example of the [[cruciform halo]], used to identify Christ in paintings, is found in the ''Miracles of the Loaves and Fishes'' mosaic of [[Sant'Apollinare Nuovo]], Ravenna (6th century). The [[Patriarchal cross]], a Latin cross with an additional horizontal bar, first appears in the 10th century. A wide variation of cross symbols is introduced for the purposes of [[Crosses in heraldry|heraldry]] beginning in the age of the [[Crusades]].<ref>William Wood Seymour, [https://archive.org/stream/crossintraditi00seym#page/360/mode/2up "The Cross in Heraldry"],  ''The Cross in Tradition, History, and Art'' (1898).</ref>

== Marks and graphemes ==
{{further|X mark}}

The [[cross mark]] is used to mark a position, or as a [[check mark]], but also to mark [[:wikt:deletion|deletion]].
Derived from Greek [[Chi (letter)|Chi]] are the [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] letter [[X]], Cyrillic [[Kha (Cyrillic)|Kha]] and possibly runic [[Gyfu]].

[[Egyptian hieroglyphs]] involving cross shapes include  ''[[ankh]]'' "life",  ''[[Cross-ndj (hieroglyph)|ndj]]'' "protect" and ''[[Nefer|nfr]]'' "good; pleasant, beautiful".

[[Sumerian cuneiform]] had a simple cross-shaped character, consisting of a horizontal and a vertical wedge ([[:wikt:𒈦|𒈦]]), read as ''maš'' "tax, yield, interest"; the superposition of two diagonal wedges results in a decussate cross ([[:wikt:𒉽|𒉽]]), read as ''pap'' "first, pre-eminent" (the superposition of these two types of crosses results in the eight-pointed star used as the sign for "sky" or "deity" ([[:wikt:𒀭|𒀭]]), [[DINGIR]]). The cuneiform script has other, more complex, cruciform characters, consisting of an arrangement of boxes or the fourfold arrangement of other characters, including the [[archaic cuneiform]] characters [[Liste der archaischen Keilschriftzeichen|LAK]]-210, LAK-276, LAK-278, LAK-617 and the classical sign EZEN (𒂡).<ref>An example of a cruciform arrangement of a character that is itself cruciform is the ligature "EZEN x KASKAL squared", encoded by [[Unicode cuneiform|Unicode]] at U+120AD (𒂭).</ref>

Phoenician ''tāw'' is still cross-shaped in [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet]] and in some [[Old Italic scripts]] ([[Rhaetic alphabets|Raetic]] and [[Lepontic]]), and its descendant [[T]] becomes again cross-shaped in the Latin [[Lower case|minuscule]] [[t]]. The [[Plus and minus signs|plus sign]] (+) is derived from Latin [[t]] via a simplification of a ligature for ''et'' "and" (introduced by [[Johannes Widmann]] in the late 15th century).

The letter [[Aleph]] is cross-shaped in [[Aramaic script|Aramaic]] and [[paleo-Hebrew]].

[[Egyptian hieroglyph]]s with cross-shapes include [[Gardiner's sign list|Gardiner]] [[List of hieroglyphs/Z|Z9 &ndash; Z11]] ("crossed sticks", "crossed planks").

Other, unrelated cross-shaped letters include [[Brahmi]] ''ka'' (predecessor of the [[Devanagari]] letter क) and [[Old Turkic script|Old Turkic (Orkhon)]] ''d²'' and [[Old Hungarian alphabet|Old Hungarian]] ''b'', and [[Katakana]] ナ ''[[Na (kana)|na]]'' and メ''[[Me (kana)|me]]''.

The [[multiplication sign]] (×), often attributed to [[William Oughtred]] (who first used it in an appendix to the 1618 edition of John Napier's ''Descriptio'') apparently had been in occasional use since the mid 16th century.<ref>Florian Cajori, ''A History of Mathematical Notations''. Dover Books on Mathematics (1929), [https://books.google.com/books?id=_byqAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA251  251f.]</ref>

Other typographical symbols resembling crosses include the [[dagger (mark)|dagger]] or ''obelus'' (†), the [[Chinese numerals|Chinese]] ([[wikt:十|十]], [[Radical 24|Kangxi radical 24]]) and [[Roman numerals|Roman]] (X ten).

[[Unicode]] has a variety of cross symbols in the "[[Dingbat]]" block (U+2700–U+27BF):

:✕ ✖ ✗ ✘ ✙ ✚ ✛ ✜ ✝ ✞ ✟ ✠ ✢ ✣ ✤ ✥

The [[Miscellaneous Symbols]] block (U+2626 to U+262F) adds three specific [[Christian cross variants]], viz. the [[Patriarchal cross]] (☦), [[Cross of Lorraine]] (☨) and [[Cross potent]] (☩, mistakenly labeled a "[[Cross of Jerusalem]]").

== Emblems ==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2016}}
The following is a list of cross symbols, ''except'' for variants of the [[Christian cross]] and [[Crosses in heraldry|Heraldic crosses]], for which see the dedicated lists at [[Christian cross variants]] and [[Crosses in heraldry]], respectively.

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|+Crosses as emblems and symbols
|-
! Picture !! Cross name !! Description
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Ankh.svg|25px]]
| | '''[[Ankh]]'''
| The ''ankh'' or ''crux ansata'', an [[Egyptian hieroglyph]] representing "life".
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[File:Lauburu.svg|30px]]
| [[Basque cross]]
| The Basque cross or ''lauburu''.
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Earth symbol (bold).svg|30px]]
| | the [[Sun cross]]
| The "sun cross" or "wheel cross" appears with some regularity in prehistoric European artefacts, usually interpreted as a [[solar symbol]], perhaps representing the spoked wheel of the [[Sun chariot]].
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Swastika.svg|30px]]
| | [[Swastika]]
|
The [[swastika]] or ''crux gammata'' (in heraldry ''[[fylfot]]''), historically used as a symbol in [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]] and [[Hinduism]], and [[Western use of the swastika in the early 20th century|widely popular in the early 20th century]] as a symbol of good luck or prosperity before adopted as a symbol of [[Nazism]] in the 1920s and 30s.
|}

; As a design element
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Picture !! Cross name !! Description
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Emblem of the Papacy SE.svg|75px]]
| | '''[[Papal regalia and insignia|Crossed keys]]'''
|Symbol of the Papacy used in various emblems representing the keys to heaven.
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Coa Illustration Elements Arms Sword Crossed Sabres.svg|50px]]
| | '''[[Crossed swords (disambiguation)#Other uses|Crossed swords]]'''
|The crossed swords symbol (⚔ at Unicode U+2694) is used to represent battlegrounds on maps. It is also used to show that person died in battle or that a war machine was lost in action. Two crossed swords also look like a Christian cross and the mixed symbolism has been used in military decorations. It is also a popular way to display swords on a wall often with a shield in the center
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Tux Paint clover.svg|75px]]
| | '''[[Four-leaf clover]]'''
|Used as a symbol for luck as well as a stand in for a cross in various works.
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Skull and Crossbones.svg|100px]]
| | '''[[Skull and crossbones (Spanish cemetery)|Skull and crossbones]]'''
|Traditionally used to mark Spanish cemeteries; the symbol evolved to represent death/danger, poison, and pirates.
|}

== Physical gestures ==
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2024}}
Cross shapes are made by a variety of physical [[gesture]]s. [[Crossed fingers|Crossing the fingers of one hand]] is a common invocation of the symbol. The [[sign of the cross]] associated with Christian [[genuflection]] is made with one hand: in Eastern Orthodox tradition the sequence is head-heart-right shoulder-left shoulder, while in Oriental Orthodox, Catholic and Anglican tradition the sequence is head-heart-left-right.

Crossing the index fingers of both hands represents and a charm against evil in European folklore. Other gestures involving more than one hand include the "cross my heart" movement associated with making a promise and the [[Tau]] shape of the [[referee]]'s "time out" hand signal.

Crossed index fingers represent the number 10 ([[wikt:十|十]]) in [[Chinese number gestures]].

==Unicode==
[[Unicode]] provides various cross symbols:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cross symbol |url=https://symbolonly.com/cross-symbol.html}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Symbol !! Name !! Code point
|-
| ✚ || Heavy Greek Cross || U+271A
|-
| ✠ || [[Maltese Cross]] || U+2720
|-
| ♱ || East Syriac Cross || U+2671
|-
| ♰ || West Syriac Cross || U+2670
|-
| ☨ || [[Cross of Lorraine]] || U+2628
|-
| ☩ || [[Jerusalem Cross|Cross of Jerusalem]] || U+2629
|-
| ✟ || [[Latin Cross]] outline || U+271F
|-
| ✞ || Shadowed White Latin Cross || U+271E
|-
| ✝ || Latin Roman Cross || U+271D
|-
| † || Cross || U+2020
|-
| ✛ || Open Centre Cross || U+271B
|-
| ✙ || Outlined Greek Cross || U+2719
|-
| ✘ || Heavy Ballot X || U+2718
|-
| ✜ || Heavy Open Centre Cross || U+271C
|-
| ✖ || Heavy Multiplication X || U+2716
|-
| ❌ || Cross Mark || U+274C
|-
| ✗ || Ballot X || U+2717
|-
| ✢ || Four Teardrop-Spoked Asterisk || U+2722
|-
| ✤ || Heavy Four Balloon-Spoked Asterisk || U+2724
|}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

* Chevalier, Jean (1997). ''The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols''. Penguin. {{ISBN|0-14-051254-3}}.
* Drury, Nevill (1985). ''Dictionary of Mysticism and the Occult''. Harper & Row. {{ISBN|0-06-062093-5}}.
* Koch, Rudolf (1955). ''The Book of Signs''. Dover, NY. {{ISBN|0-486-20162-7}}.
* Webber, F. R. (1927, rev. 1938). [https://archive.org/details/churchsymbolisme0000webb/mode/2up ''Church Symbolism: An Explanation of the More Important Symbols of the Old and New Testament, the Primitive, the Mediaeval and the Modern Church''] {{Registration required}}. Cleveland, OH. {{OCLC|236708}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Crosses}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160318033820/http://lutheransonline.com/servlet/CpsServlet/dbpage%3Dcge%26gid%3D20052995655655607101111555%26pg%3D20053040942236960101111555 Variations of Crosses – Images and Meanings]
* [http://www.crosscrucifix.com/glossaryhome.htm Cross & Crucifix]—Glossary: Forms and Topics
* [http://nasrani.net/2008/02/29/analogical-review-on-st-thomas-cross-the-symbol-of-nasranis/ Nasrani.net], Indian Cross
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100507030114/http://www.catholicrevelations.com/category/saints/the-christian-cross-of-jesus-christ-christianity-symbols-images-clip-art-designs.html The Christian Cross of Jesus Christ: Symbols of Christianity, Images, Designs and representations of it as objects of devotion]

{{Christian crosses}}

[[Category:Cross symbols| ]]
[[Category:Petroglyphs]]
[[Category:Religious symbols]]
[[Category:Timber framing]]
[[Category:Christian symbols]]
[[Category:Religious terminology]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Geometric shapes]]