Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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name
A distinctive winter constellation of the southern sky, shaped like a cross. It appears in the flags of several countries in Oceania.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: astronomy, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: Southern Cross
Antonyms: none provided
noun
The basic, central, or essential point or feature.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Synonyms: core, essence, heart, gist, bowels, sum, brass tacks, crux, drift, guts, gravamen, heart and soul, heartstring, heartstrings, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, moral of the story, nitty-gritty, nub, nuts and bolts, pith, punctum saliens, quintessence, soul, spirit, stuff, substance, tenor
Antonyms: none provided
noun
The critical or transitional moment or issue, a turning point.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A puzzle or difficulty.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: enigma, puzzle, riddle, conundrum
Antonyms: none provided
noun
The hardest point of a climb.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: climbing, hobbies, lifestyle, sports
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A cross on a coat of arms.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: government, heraldry, hobbies, lifestyle, monarchy, nobility, politics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
the most important point
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: crux of the matter
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: point
Narrower terms: alpha and omega
noun
a small conspicuous constellation in the southern hemisphere in the Milky Way near Centaurus
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: Southern Cross, Crux Australis
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: constellation
History
Learned borrowing from Latin crux (“a cross”).
Borrowed from Latin crux (“cross, wooden frame for execution”), possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, to bend”). Doublet of cross and crouch (“cross”).
Across languages
45 source translations are retained for this English entry.
