Very Easy Rodent-oriented Netwide Index to Computerized Archives.

A front end for searching Gopher servers. A Veronica search looks for filenames and produces a menu of items linked to a Gopher data source. It's actually a contrived acronym and was really named for a character from Archie comics, because Veronica searches Gopher sites in the same way that Archie searches ftp archives.

Legendary pious woman who, according to Jacobus de Voragine’s The Golden Legend, was a devoted follower of Christ who wanted a painting of him as a keepsake.
Veronica, by chance, met Jesus on his way to Calvary. She pressed the cloth against his face and miraculously imprinted his image upon it. In the 13th century a new version of this story appeared, supplanting the earlier one: during the climb up to Calvary Jesus stumbled under the weight of his cross, Veronica stepped forward from the crowd and mopped his brow and later found the imprint of his face on the cloth.

A cloth, known as the sudarium, vernicle or volta santo, bearing the image of Christ’s face, has been one of the most precious relics preserved in St. Peter’s in Rome since the 8th century. Considered a true likeness of Christ’s face, it has been suggested that perhaps the legends of Veronica developed to explain the relic.

A veronica is one of the characteristic motions performed by a bullfighter, as depicted by innumerable travel agency posters and paintings on black velvet. The matador stands, facing the bull, with his cape spread open along the length of his arm, and, as the bull charges, sweeps the cape away with a dramatic flourish.

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.

⇒ 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.

 

© Webster 1913.

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