Veronica definition | Dictionary.com

ve⋅ron⋅i⋅ca

1 [vuh-ron-i-kuh]

–noun (sometimes initial capital letter

) Ecclesiastical.

1.	the image of the face of Christ, said in legend to have been miraculously impressed on the handkerchief or veil that St. Veronica gave to Him to wipe His face on the way to Calvary.

2.	the handkerchief or veil itself.

3.	Also called sudarium. any handkerchief, veil, or cloth bearing a representation of the face of Christ.

Also called vernicle.

Origin:
1690–1700; < ML veronica, alleged to be an alter. of vēra īconica true image (see very, icon ), subsequently also taken as the name of the woman who gave Christ the cloth

ve⋅ron⋅i⋅ca

2 [vuh-ron-i-kuh]

–noun

any of numerous plants belonging to the genus Veronica, of the figwort family, having opposite leaves and clusters of small flowers, as the speedwell.

Origin:
1520–30; < NL or ML, perh. after veronica ¹ or St. Veronica (but cf. MGk bereníkion plant name, equiv. to Bereník(ē) proper name + -ion dim. suffix)

ve⋅ron⋅i⋅ca

3 [vuh-ron-i-kuh]

–noun

(in bullfighting) a pass in which the matador keeps his feet and legs absolutely still while slowly swinging the open cape away from the charging bull.

Origin:
1925–30; < Sp verónica prob. lit., veronica ¹

Ve⋅ron⋅i⋅ca

[vuh-ron-i-kuh]

–noun

a female given name.

Also, Ve⋅ron⋅i⋅ka.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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ve·ron·i·ca¹ (və-rŏn'ĭ-kə) Pronunciation Key
n. Any of various plants of the genus Veronica, which includes the speedwells.

[New Latin Veronica, genus name.]

ve·ron·i·ca² (və-rŏn'ĭ-kə) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. According to popular legend, an image of the face of Jesus as impressed on the handkerchief offered to him by Saint Veronica on the road to Calvary.
2. The handkerchief itself.
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).]

ve·ron·i·ca³ (və-rŏn'ĭ-kə) Pronunciation Key
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.]

Ve·ron·i·ca (və-rŏn'ĭ-kə) Pronunciation Key
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, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Veronica

fem. proper name, a variant of Gk. Berenike (see Berenice). The popular "Saint Veronica" (not in the Roman Martyrology) traditionally was a pious woman who wiped the face of Christ when he fell carrying the cross to Calvary. The image of his face remained on the cloth, and the "veil of Veronica" has been preserved in Rome from the 8c. Her popularity rose with the propagation of the Stations of the Cross. Some also identified her with the woman with the issue of blood, cured by Christ, as in the East this woman was identified from an early date by the name Berenike.

"In sum, it seems likely that the story of Veronica is a delightful legend without any solid historical basis; that Veronica is a purely fictitious, not a historical character, and that the story was invented to explain the relic. It aroused great interest in the later Middle Ages in the general devotional context of increased concern with the humanity of Christ, especially the Holy Face, and the physical elements of his Passion." [David Hugh Farmer, "The Oxford Dictionary of Saints," 1978]

Hence vernicle (1362) "picture of the face of Christ," from O.Fr. veronicle, var. of veronique.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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veronica
noun
any plant of the genus Veronica

Veronica information science
Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives. Veronica offers a keyword search of most gopher menu titles in the entire gopher web. As archie is to FTP archives, Veronica is to Gopherspace. A Veronica search produces a menu of Gopher items, each of which is a direct pointer to a Gopher data source. Because Veronica is accessed through a Gopher Client, it is easy to use, and gives access to all types of data supported by the Gopher protocol.
To try Veronica, select it from the "Other Gophers" menu on Minnesota's gopher server, or point your gopher at:
Name=veronica (search menu items in most of GopherSpace) Type=1 Port=70 Path=1/veronica Host=gopher.scs.unr.edu
(gopher://gopher.scs.unr.edu/1/veronica).

Veronica

Ve*ron"i*ca\, n. [LL.; -- so called from Veronica, a woman who, according to an old legend, as Christ was carrying the cross, wiped his face with a cloth, which received an impression of his countenance; Veronica is fr. MGr. ?, fr. Macedonian ?, for Gr. ?, literally, carrying off victory, victorious.]

1. A portrait or representation of the face of our Savior on the alleged handkerchief of Saint Veronica, preserved at Rome; hence, a representation of this portrait, or any similar representation of the face of the Savior. Formerly called also Vernacle, and Vernicle.

2. (Bot.) A genus scrophulariaceous plants; the speedwell. See Speedwell.

Note: Several herbaceous species are common in both Europe and America, most of which have small blue flowers. A few shrubby species from New Zealand are sometimes found in cultivation.

Veronica
very easy, rodent-oriented netwide index to computerized archives

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