Cross"-pur`pose (-p?r`p?s), n.
1.
A counter or opposing purpose; hence, that which is inconsistent or contradictory.
Shaftesbury.
2. pl.
A conversational game, in which questions and answers are made so as to involve ludicrous combinations of ideas.
Pepys.
To be at cross-purposes, to misunderstand or to act counter to one another without intending it; -- said of persons.
© Webster 1913.