n. See speedwell. [New Latin Veronica, genus name.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. 1. a. According to popular legend, an image of the face of Jesus as impressed on the cloth offered to him by Saint Veronica on the road to Calvary. b. The cloth itself. 2. A cloth bearing a representation of Jesus's face. [Medieval Latin, perhaps alteration of vēra īconica, true image : Latin vēra, feminine of vērus, true; see VERY + Latin īconica, feminine of īconicus, of an image (from Greek eikonikos, from eikōn, image; see ICON).] ![]() (click for a larger image) veronica2c. 1420 oil painting |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. A maneuver in bullfighting in which the matador stands with both feet fixed in position and swings the cape slowly away from the charging bull. [Spanish, from veronica, the veronica (from the gesture Saint Veronica made), from Medieval Latin; see VERONICA2.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
In Christian tradition, a woman of Jerusalem who gave Jesus her head cloth to wipe his face as he bore the cross to Calvary. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.