Heraldry Guide Glossary Abased - Lowered Addorser - Back to back; said of beasts, etc., and of wings so placed; also Endorsed Affronte - Of a beast or object so placed to show its full front to the observer; sometimes used as a synonym for guardant (q.v.) Ambulant - Walking Annulet - A ring Arched - In the form of an arch; also, Enarched Argent - Silver, usually represented as white Armed - Of beasts, monsters and birds in reference to teeth, talons, horns and claws; when applied to men or human limbs it is synonymous with armoured; also applied to arrows Azure - Blue (from Arabic Lazura) Balance - A pair of scales Barb - Applied to the leaf-like sepals appearing between the petals of the heraldic rose; also to the head of an arrow Beaked - Of the beaks of birds or monsters Bearing - Any heraldic device or figure borne in arms Belled - Having a bell or bells attached, e.g., a falcon Bezant - A gold roundle Blazon - The technical description of heraldic insignia; the word should not be applied to painted arms which are emblazonments Bordure - Narrow border Caboshed - Of an animal's head affronte and cut off so as to show no part of the neck Caduceus - The staff of Mercury, consisting of a ball-headed rod, winged, and entwined with two serpents Centaur - The man-horse of mythology, represented with bow and arrow; also termed Sagittarius or Sagittary Charge - Any object or figure placed on an heraldic shield or on any other object in an armorial composition; the shield or other object on which the charge is placed is said to be charged Checky - Checkered Chevalier - A man on horseback Close - Of a bird when the wings lie close to the body Combatant - Face to face; in battle Concave - Arched Confronte - Facing one another Conjoined - Joined together Cornucopia - The horn of plenty Couchant - Lying down or sleeping Counter - Reverse or opposite Countercharged - Countercoloured Courant - Running Crenallated - Embattled; the aperatures are the crenelles or embrasured, and the pieces of wall which rise between them are merlons Crined - Of hair or mane Cubit arm - A hand or arm couped below the elbow Decrescent - Of a crescent when the horns are to the sinister Demi - The upper of front half is always understood, unless the contrary is stated Dexter - The right-hand side of the shield from the standpoint of the man behind it Displayed - Having the wings expanded; unfolded Emblem - An officially approved symbolic design portraying the distinctive history, mission, and general function of an organization Element - A symbol or group of symbols portraying a single characteristic, trait, or concept Elevated - Raised; of wings of birds, etc. Embowed - Bent, curved Enhanced - Raised above the normal position Erased - Torn off (arrache) and leaving ragged edges Erect - Set upright, in a vertical position Establishment - Any organization with a constituted headquarters, at group level or higher Estoile - A star; estoile, scattered with the stars Fasces - The lictor's axe in its bundle of rods; sometimes found in the arms of judges Feathered, or Flighted - Applied to an arrow Fimbriated - Having a narrow edging of a different tincture from the rest of the charge Flexed - Bent or bowed Fructed - Bearing fruit Fumant - Smoking Garb - A sheaf of corn; English "corn" is our wheat Garnished - Appropriately adorned Golpe - A purple roundle (rare) Gorged - Encircled round the neck or throat Goutte - A drop, scattered with drops Guardant - Of a beast with its head turned so as to face the observer Gules - Red (from Arabic gul, a red rose), abbreviated GU Gunstone, Gunshot - A black roundle; pellet Habited - Clothed Hauriant - Of a fish erect with head upwards, as though drawing in air Heraldry - The heraldry of a specific organization consists of its emblem, motto (if any), its designation, and the shield of an establishment or the disc of a unit Heater Shield - The most popular shield for armorial display, having the shape of the base of a flat iron Hillock - A green mount Hilted - Used in referring to the grip and cross-piece of a sword Hurt - A blue roundle; hurte, hurty, scattered with hurts In lure - - Of two wings joined, tips downwards, like a hawk's lure In point - Charges arranged pilewise so as almost to meet in the base of the shield In splendor - Of the sun when shown (as normally) with its rays Incensed - Having fire issuing from the mouth and ears Increscent - Of a crescent when the horns are to the dexter Inflamed - Burning Inverted - Upside down; of wings when the tips are downwards Issuant - Proceeding from or out of Jessant - Shooting forth, as plants from earth Jessant-de-lis - Having a fleur-de-lis shooting forth Langued - Used when referring to the tongue of a creature Lined - Having an inside lining; also having cords or chains attached, as to a collar Mace - Originally a weapon, now a symbol of judicial or civic authority Main - A hand Maned - Refers to the mane of a lion, horse, etc. Masoned - Used in referring to the cement or other binding material in a piece of masonry or brickwork Mill-rind - The iron affixed to the centre of a millstone; it sometimes takes the form of a cross moline Mount - A hillock, usually in the base of a shield Mullet - Star Murrey - Purple red (mulberry colour) Naiant - Swimming Nebuly - In stylized cloud form Ogress - A black roundle Or - Gold; also yellow Over all - Of a charge when it is borne over all others Passant - Walking past Pegasus - The winged horse Pellet - A black roundle; pellete, pellety, scattered with pellets Pennant - A long streamer-like pennon Phoenix - Represented as an eagle issuing from flames Pierced - Perforated and showing the field or some other tincture through the hole Pile - A pie shape, point to base Pily-bendy - A field divided into a number of pile-shaped pieces bendwise Plate - A silver roundle Pomme - A green roundle Pommeml - The ball at the end of a sword hilt Portcullis - A defense for a gateway; Royal badge of the Tudors Proper - In natural or normal colors Purpure - Purple, abbreviated purp Quarterly, quartered - Cut in fourths Queue - The tail of an animal Quill, Quilled - Terms used when referring to the pen or a feather Rayonne - Encircled with or formed of rays Raguly - Of a staff or limb ragged Rampant - On one hind foot and prepared to battle Regurdant - Of an animal looking over its back Respectant - Face to face Rising - About to take wing Rod of Aesculapius - A serpent entwined about a rod; an emblem of healing Rompu - Broken, or interrupted Sable - Black, abbreviated sa Salient - Springing Saltirewise - Crossed diagonally, X Sea-horse, Sea-wolfe - The fore-part of an animal joined to a fish-tail Seeded - Used when referring to the seed vessels of flowers, etc. Sergreant - Rampant, in the case of a griffin or dragon Sejant - Of an animal represented in a sitting position Seme - Strewn or scattered with any charge, e.g., seme-de-lis (strewn with fleurs-de-lis), seme of roses, etc.; also Aspersed, Poudre, or Powdered Shafted - Used when referring to the shaft of a spear, arrow, etc. Shamrock - The emblem of Ireland; sometimes represented as true to nature, and sometimes conventionally as a trefoil slipped Sinister - The left hand side of the shield from the standpoint of the man behind it Soaring - Flying aloft Springing - An attitude of deer and similar animals Stringed - Having strings or ribbons, as a harp, bugle-horn, etc.; also used when referring to a bow-string Surmounted - Applied to a charge over which another charge is laid Tenne - Orange or tawny Torteau - A red roundle, (pl. torteaux) Transfixed - Pierced through Triparted - Split into three parts Unguled - Used when referring to the hoofs of animals Unit - Lowest level of organization of the Air Force; an organization with no headquarters; squadrons and numbered flights are units Vert - Green Vested - Clothed Voided - Of a charge with the middle removed, leaving little more than the outline Volant - Flying Waves of the sea - Usually represented naturally Wavy - Stylized waves formation