In Portuguese, perhaps under the influence of French medicine, the preferred comparison is likewise with the crosier, though there is disagreement over the spelling of the word, which is written both with a double s (crosse) and with a ç (croça). Croça, in Portuguese, has two meanings: the first, little known in Brazil, denotes a kind of straw cape or cloak that Portuguese peasants wear to protect themselves from the rain; the second means crosier or episcopal staff, corresponding to the French crosse. The uncertainty over the spelling naturally stems from the uncertainty over the word’s etymology. Assuming an origin in the Low Latin crocia (derived from crux, in the sense of a stake), the correct spelling would be croça. However, etymology scholars derive the Portuguese croça from the Latin crocea, meaning a straw mantle or of the color of saffron; yellow, and the French crosse from the Germanic krukkya, meaning a staff. Consequently, they are two etymologically distinct words. Nowadays, both spellings are accepted within the field, with a clear preference for “crossa” (7,000 articles on Google versus 900,000). When referring to the aortic arch, the yellow color and the staff-like shape may be justified, whereas for the saphenofemoral junction the color does not apply, making the French origin more appropriate.
Source:
CROSSA DA AORTA Linguagem Médica, 4th ed., Goiânia, Ed. Kelps, 2011. http://www.jmrezende.com.br/crossa.htm
Kevin Mahoney. LatDict http://latin-dictionary.net/search/latin/crux
Lexilogos https://www.lexilogos.com/english/latin_dictionary.htm
http://archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wordz.pl?keyword=crux
http://archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wordz.pl?keyword=crocea
http://archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wordz.pl?keyword=crocia
Latin Dictionary Headword http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/resolveform?type=exact&lookup=crux&lang=la
Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dcrux
http://www.academia.org.br/nossa-lingua/busca-no-vocabulario
