crossbar

Etymology

It is formed from English cross + bar.^[2][3][4][5] The OED takes the first element as the adjective meaning transverse, lying across, while Etymonline and the Shorter Oxford take it as the combining form cross-;^[2][3][4] the second is the noun meaning a rod or bar.^[2][3] Etymonline also files the word with a hyphen.^[3] The verb, recorded from 1598, is partly a compound of the same first element with the verb bar and partly a use of the noun as a verb.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A horizontal or transverse bar, fixed across another bar or across part of a structure: 1466, in an inventory.^[2] Etymonline likewise dates the noun to the mid-15th century,^[3] while Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives 1562,^[6] Dictionary.com 1550–60^[5] and the Shorter Oxford the mid-16th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Besides the plain sense of a bar laid across something, the late 16th century used the word figuratively for a hindrance or misfortune, from Stanyhurst's translation of Virgil in 1582 until 1640,^[2] and for a kind of shot with a bar projecting on each side, fired to damage an enemy ship's rigging (1588).^[2] A transverse line or stripe is recorded from 1629,^[2][4] and in heraldry the word stood for the bend sinister, supposedly a mark of illegitimacy, from 1655 to 1704.^[2][4] The verb followed the same lines: to mark with stripes (1598), to fix a bar across a door or window (1600) and, until 1891, to hinder or obstruct.^[2][4] The 19th century brought the sporting and mechanical senses: the bar between the goalposts in football, first in Tom Brown's School Days (1857), and the top bar of a bicycle frame (1883).^[2] Collins also lists the bar resting on two uprights in the high jump, pole vault and show-jumping.^[7]

Timeline

• 1466 – a bar placed across another bar or part of a structure.^[2]
• 1582 – figuratively, a hindrance or misfortune (obsolete by 1640).^[2]
• 1588 – a round shot with a bar projecting on either side.^[2]
• 1598 – verb, to mark with bars or stripes.^[2][4]
• 1600 – verb, to fix a bar across a door or window.^[2][4]
• 1629 – a transverse line or stripe.^[2][4]
• 1644 – verb, to hinder or obstruct (obsolete by 1891).^[2]
• 1655 – in heraldry, the bend sinister (obsolete by 1704).^[2]
• 1660 – adjective, marked with crossbars or stripes.^[2]
• 1857 – the bar between the goalposts in football.^[2]
• 1883 – the top bar of a bicycle frame.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A horizontal bar fixed across something, such as the upright of a cross or the rungs of a frame.^[6][7][2]
2. The horizontal bar joining two goalposts in football, rugby and similar games: The penalty kick struck the crossbar.^[7][6][2]
3. The bar resting on two uprights that competitors clear in the high jump, pole vault or show jumping.^[7][6]
4. The bar of a bicycle frame that joins the handlebar and saddle supports.^[7][2]
5. A transverse line or stripe, as in a fabric design.^[7][6][2]
6. A horizontal stroke in a letter, such as the one joining the uprights of H.^[6]
7. (heraldry, obsolete, 1655–1704) The bend sinister.^[2][4]

Verb

1. To mark with bars or stripes across.^[2][4]
2. To fix a bar or bars across, especially a door or window.^[2][4]

Related words

• crossbow
• crossbeam

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins