Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
market cross

market cross

9.8
A stone cross in a town market square where people meet and hear announcements
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : cruz del mercado
  • Tourists stopped to admire the old market cross and take photographs.

Examples

  • The town's market cross is a historic landmark.

  • Many towns have a market cross in their center.

  • Announcements used to be read out loud beneath the market cross every week.

  • The medieval town still has its original market cross at the center of the square.

  • The villagers gathered around the market cross to discuss the upcoming fair.

  • Traditionally, important announcements were made at the market cross in the town square.

  • Children often play near the market cross, which is a historic landmark in our town.

Surface Forms

market cross singular
market crosses plural

Morphology

market + cross

The compound is directly compositional: 'market' (a marketplace) + 'cross' (a cross-shaped monument) yields a cross located in the market. This noun–noun formation follows a common, predictable English pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the basic referent even if they don't know its historical civic functions.

Etymology

Market cross comes from real stone crosses put in the town market, where people met and town leaders read announcements aloud. So the name came to mean a public 'meeting place' and spot for official news.