Brewer's: Crux Pectoralis

The cross which bishops of the Church of Rome suspend over their breast.

“Crucem cum pretioso ligno vel cum reliquis Sanctorum ante pectus portare suspensum ad collum, hoc est quod vocant encolpium [or crux Pectoralis].”—See Ducange, vol.iii. p. 302, col. 2, article ENCOLPIUM.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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