Cross of Lorraine
- noun
:
Cruz de Lorena
- During the ceremony, he wore a pendant shaped like the Cross of Lorraine to honor his ancestors.
Examples
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The Cross of Lorraine is often associated with the fight for freedom during World War II.
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Bearing the symbolic Cross of Lorraine (sample 1 and 3), emblematic of Gaullist France with or without the words 'France Libre', they were printed in England and used with great caution in the colonies.
Fiction book (1997) -
The flag of Lorraine features the distinct Cross of Lorraine, symbolizing the region's rich history.
Synonyms
A cross with two horizontal bars, the upper shorter, that people use as a symbol of Lorraine and resistance
A cross with two horizontal bars, the top bar shorter than the bottom, used in Eastern churches
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built: 'cross' (a type of cross) + 'of' (of/belonging to) + 'Lorraine' (the region) yields a cross associated with Lorraine. While the precise heraldic shape (two horizontal bars) is a specific detail learners may not know, the general meaning — a type or variant of cross linked to Lorraine — is directly derivable from the constituents and common cross-of-place naming patterns.
Etymology
The Cross of Lorraine is a cross with a vertical bar crossed by two horizontal bars, the lower one longer, so picture a normal cross with a second arm above it. It was used for the Lorraine region and was later taken by the Free French in World War II as a sign of 'resistance', so the double bar now reminds people of that region and of standing up against oppressors.
