shepherd's crook
1
7.3
- noun
- /ˈʃɛpərdz krʊk/
:
garfio de pastor
- He leaned on his shepherd's crook while watching the sheep graze in the meadow.
Examples
-
The shepherd used his shepherd's crook to guide the flock to safety.
-
Eventually, a swarthy man appeared gripping a silver-tipped shepherd's crook.
Fiction book (2001) -
In this study, only the shepherd's crook attachment was used.
Academic text (1998) -
Some had shepherd's crooks or magic wands and stick-on angel wings.
Fiction book (1995) -
Your trusty shepherd's crook
Blog text (7) -
An archbishop traditionally is in the role of a shepherd—that's why he carries a symbolic shepherd's crook.
Blog text (8) -
"Old Bishop Peter shook his silver shepherd's crook at the presumptuous boyar, shouting, "Blasphemous sinner, Mother Church must judge these crimes."
Fiction book (2002) -
With a flick of the wrist, she caught the stray lamb with her shepherd's crook.
Synonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
shepherd's + crook
The meaning is directly compositional: 'shepherd's' is the possessive of shepherd (a person who tends sheep) and 'crook' is a hooked staff, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to the hooked staff used by shepherds. Although 'crook' can also mean a criminal, the collocation with 'shepherd's' disambiguates the sense, making the phrase highly transparent.
Etymology
Shepherd's crook is a long staff with a curved end that shepherds used to hook a sheep's leg or gently guide it back into the pen. Because of that clear picture, the curved crook became both the real tool for managing sheep and a 'symbol of care' carried by leaders like bishops.