Crozier

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A curved staff traditionally carried by high-ranking church officials like bishops or abbots as a sign of their office ; a representation of spiritual leadership and pastoral responsibility symbolized by this staff
2. An ornamental hooked rod held by members of the clergy to denote their rank and role within religious hierarchies ; a visual emblem expressing the holder's guidance over a religious community
3. A staff with a distinctive hooked top used ceremonially by ecclesiastical authorities ; an object serving as a tangible symbol of their governing and shepherding duties

Etymology: The crozier is named for the person who carried the cross, not for the staff itself. In Middle English, the word referred to the cross-bearer: a church official who walked before a bishop or abbot carrying a processional cross. The term came from a blend of two Old French words, "crocier" ("bearer of a cross") and "croisier" ("one who bears or has to do with a cross"), both descended from Latin "crux," meaning "cross." Over time the name slid from the bearer to the object. The crook-headed staff that bishops and abbots carried became the crozier, and the word's sense moved from a person's job to an emblem of it. The curved top of the staff recalls a shepherd's crook, which is why the object came to stand for pastoral care, the role of a leader tending a flock.