The word 十字 is a compound noun formed by combining the character 十 (shí), meaning "ten", with the character 字 (zì), meaning "character" or "word". It literally translates to "ten character", but its actual meaning of "cross" or "the character 十" arises because the shape of the numeral 十 graphically resembles a plus sign or a Christian cross; thus, the term semantically shifted to denote the shape itself, making it a descriptive compound where the first element indicates the form and the second clarifies it is a written symbol or shape.