Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Crosier"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Crosier \Cro"sier\ (kr?"zh?r), n. [OE. rocer, croser, croyser,
fr. croce crosier, OF. croce, croche, F. crosse, fr. LL.
crocea, crocia, from the same German or Celtic sourse as F.
croc hook; akin to E. crook.]
The pastoral staff of a bishop (also of an archbishop, being
the symbol of his office as a shepherd of the flock of God.
Note: The true shape of the crosier was with a hooked or
curved top; the archbishop's staff alone bore a cross
instead of a crook, and was of exceptional, not of
regular form. --Skeat.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
crosier
n : a staff surmounted by a crook or cross carried by bishops as
a symbol of pastoral office [syn: {crozier}]
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