Meanings
nouncross-staff (plural cross-staffs or cross-staves)
plural cross-staffs · plural cross-staves
- obsoleteecclesiasticalAn archbishop's cross.
- historicalAn early instrument, consisting of a wooden rod with a sliding crosspiece, used for measuring the altitude of a star or for surveying.
The cross-staff is a very simple instrument, a calibrated shaft along which a bar slides.
2015, David Wootton, The Invention of Science, Penguin, published 2016, page 188
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Cite this entry
APA
cross-staff. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross-staff
MLA
“cross-staff.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross-staff. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cross-staff,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross-staff.
Source: cross-staff on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.