crozier

IPA/ˈkrəʊziə(r)/
KK[krˈoʒɚ]IPA/ˈkrəʊʒər/

crozier — noun

  • croziersingular
  • croziersplural

1. a decorated staff with a curved or cross-shaped top, carried by bishops in Chris

1.nounC2
Definition

a decorated staff with a curved or cross-shaped top, carried by bishops in Christian ceremonies to signal their position as church leaders.

Example

Andrés watched the bishop raise his silver crozier to bless the gathered crowd.

The wooden crozier, decorated with gold and precious stones, was over two hundred years old.

collocation: wooden / gold / silver crozier

Common collocations
  • silver crozier
  • gold crozier
  • wooden crozier
  • bishop's crozier
  • archbishop's crozier
  • carry a crozier
  • hold a crozier
  • raise a crozier
Synonyms
  • pastoral staff

    a more formal, technical term for the same object, often used in theological writing

  • bishop's staff

    a descriptive, everyday term that emphasises who carries it rather than the object's symbolic meaning

Grammar Patterns

countable, usually singular

Common Mistakes

The priest carried a wooden crozier.
The bishop carried a wooden crozier.
In most Christian traditions, only bishops and abbots carry a crozier, not ordinary priests.
The word is spelled crosier in all situations.
Crozier is the more common spelling, though crosier is also used.
Both spellings appear in English; crozier is the standard form in modern writing.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three terms refer to a staff carried by religious leaders, but they differ in specificity and connotation. 'Crozier' is the standard term for the ornate, often jewel-encrusted staff carried by bishops and abbots in Christian ceremonies. 'Pastoral staff' is a more formal synonym used in theological writing, focusing on the shepherd metaphor (from Latin 'pastor', meaning shepherd). 'Bishop's staff' is a plain descriptive term that avoids the specialised vocabulary but can refer to any staff a bishop might use, ceremonial or practical. 'Crook' refers to any staff with a curved end, including a shepherd's practical tool; it only overlaps with 'crozier' when the context makes clear a ceremonial object is meant. In a sentence: 'The new bishop received a silver crozier at her ordination,' versus 'The shepherd leaned on his wooden crook as he watched the flock.'

pastoral staffbishop's staffcrook ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • symbol of office
  • sign of authority

Etymology

Germanic (Frankish)LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'crozier' entered English from Old French 'crocier', which originally meant 'staff-bearer'. This traces back to the Latin word 'croccia' (curved staff) and ultimately to a Germanic root meaning 'hook' or 'bend'. The shepherd's-crook shape that gives the staff its name has been central to the word's meaning since its earliest recorded use.