Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To put (a person) to death by nailing or binding to a cross.
- transitive verb To mortify or subdue (the flesh).
- transitive verb To treat cruelly; torment.
- transitive verb To criticize harshly; pillory.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To put to death by nailing or otherwise affixing to a cross. See
crucifixion . - Figuratively, in Scripture, to subdue; mortify; kill; destroy the power or influence of.
- To vex; torment; excruciate.
- To put or place in the form of a cross; cross.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To fasten to a cross; to put to death by nailing the hands and feet to a cross or gibbet.
- transitive verb To destroy the power or ruling influence of; to subdue completely; to mortify.
- transitive verb To vex or torment.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
execute (a person) bynailing to across . - verb To punish or otherwise express extreme anger at, especially as a scapegoat or target of outrage.
- verb informal To thoroughly beat at a sport or game.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb hold within limits and control
- verb kill by nailing onto a cross
- verb treat cruelly
- verb criticize harshly or violently
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Middle English crucifien, from Old French crucifier, alteration of Latin crucifīgere : crux, cruc-, cross + fīgere, to attach; see dhīgw- in Indo-European roots.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Old French crucefier, from Latin crucifigo.
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