Skull and crossbones

Skull and crossbones

Skull and crossbones is a symbol consisting of a human skull and two long bones crossed together under the skull. It is used in several contexts:

  • Skull and crossbones (poison), the use of the symbol as a warning of danger (usually in regard to poisonous substances)
  • Skull and crossbones (military), variations on the symbol used by several military forces
  • Skull and crossbones (fraternities and sports), the use of the symbol, for various reasons, by many American college fraternities, sororities, and secret societies founded in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
  • Skull and crossbones (Spanish cemetery), the use of the symbol to mark the entrances to Spanish cemeteries (campo santo)
  • Unicode represents the symbol (☠) as codepoint U+2620, in its Miscellaneous Symbols block
  • In Christianity, the skull and cross bones represents the mortality of man; in this context, it is found on older crucifixes.

See also


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Skull and crossbones — Skull Skull, n. [OE. skulle, sculle, scolle; akin to Scot. skull, skoll, a bowl, Sw. skalle skull, skal a shell, and E. scale; cf. G. hirnschale, Dan. hierneskal. Cf. {Scale} of a balance.] 1. (Anat.) The skeleton of the head of a vertebrate… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • skull and crossbones — n [singular] 1.) a picture of a human skull with two bones crossed below it, used in past times on the flags of ↑pirate ships 2.) a picture of a human skull with two bones crossed below it, used on containers to show that what is inside is poison …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • skull and crossbones — ► skull and crossbones a representation of a skull with two thigh bones crossed below it as an emblem of piracy or death. Main Entry: ↑skull …   English terms dictionary

  • skull and crossbones — n. a human skull facing forward with two long bones crossed beneath it, as formerly pictured on pirates flags: now used as a warning sign, as on poisons …   English World dictionary

  • skull and crossbones — noun emblem warning of danger or death • Hypernyms: ↑emblem • Part Holonyms: ↑black flag, ↑pirate flag, ↑Jolly Roger, ↑blackjack * * * noun (plural skulls …   Useful english dictionary

  • skull and crossbones — N SING A skull and crossbones is a picture of a human skull above a pair of crossed bones which warns of death or danger. It used to appear on the flags of pirate ships and is now sometimes found on containers holding poisonous substances. Skull… …   English dictionary

  • skull-and-crossbones — A particularly dreadful client or person with whom you no longer want to do business or have contact. When he refused to pay me for my work, he became a skull and crossbones file …   Dictionary of american slang

  • skull-and-crossbones — A particularly dreadful client or person with whom you no longer want to do business or have contact. When he refused to pay me for my work, he became a skull and crossbones file …   Dictionary of american slang

  • skull and crossbones — skull′ and cross′bones n. pl. skulls and crossbones. a representation of a front view of a human skull above two crossed bones, orig. used on pirates flags and now used as a warning sign, as in identifying poisons • Etymology: 1820–30 …   From formal English to slang

  • skull and crossbones — skull and cross|bones [ ,skʌl ən krɔs,bounz ] noun singular a picture of two crossed bones under a skull. It was used in the past on ships belonging to PIRATES (=sailors that attacked and stole from other ships) and is now used for warning of… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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