Abased: describes ordinaries borne in a lower than usual position; charges born in a lower position are said to be in base
Abatement: mark of disgrace attached to arms to indicate dishonourable behaviour of the bearer
Accompanied: in between
Accosted: describes charges accompanied by other charges on each side or two animals walking side by side
Achievement: a full heraldic composition with shield, crest, motto etc.; particularly applied to funeral escutcheons showing rank and family of the bearer, which is placed in front of his house at his death
Addition: mark of honour added to arms (opposite: abatement)
Addorsed: used to describe figures, particularly animals, placed back to back
Adpotive: arms gifted or consented to another person by the original bearer
Adumbration: a charge painted in outlines only or the shadow of a charge painted in the same colour as the surrounding field but in darker tint; families who had lost their possessions occasionally chose to bear their hereditary arms adumbrated rather than relinquishing them
Affrontant: two animals facing each other (opposite: addorsed)
Aislé: winged, only used for animals naturally without wings
Alberia: a plain shield without ornaments or armourial bearings
Allumé: describes eyes of beasts when the eyes are painted red
Allusive arms: also called canting arms, arms which suggest and symbolize the bearer´s name
Ambulant: walking
Anchor: used as a charge or crest, the anchor symbolizes hope in heraldry
Anchored cross: also called cross moline; a cross with bifurctaed ends, symbolizes hope through the Cross of Christ
Animé: describes wild animals breathing fire, also called incensed
Annodated: bowed or S-shaped
Annulet: a small ring; when used as a charge generally two or three are depicted; also used as a mark of cadency (difference) for the fifth son
Appointé: pointed; also used to describe charges whose points meet (e.g. swords or arrows)
Aquilated: adorned with eagles´ heads
Argent: the tincture silver, generally depicted as white
Armed: describes beasts depicted with teeth, claws, beaks etc.
Arms: in strict heraldry only those armorial bearings that are depicted on the shield; also used for coat of arms; some common arms are:
Ascendant: describes upwards rising rays, flames or smoke
Aspect: the position of an animal; full aspect is full-faced, passant is sideways, trian aspect is between full-faced and sideways
Aspersed: strewn or powdered with small charges
Attire: the single horn of a stag; plural attires stag´s attires
Augmentation: additional charges to the family arms granted by the sovereign as a mark of honour
Azure: bright blue, represented by horizontal lines in engravings
Badge: or cognizance, mark of distinction, not worn on the helmet nor placed on a wreath; usually borne on banners or the sleeves of servants
Bar: an ordinary which crosses the field horizontally; similar to a fess but occupies only one of the field (fess: one third)
Barrulet: diminutive of the bar, one twentieth of the field, never borne singly
Base: the lower part of a shield
Baton: or correctly baton sinister; a diminutive of the bend sinister, usually denotes illegitimacy (bastardy); of metal in the case of royalty; of colour in all other cases
Bearing: ancient; any charge within the shield
Bend: one of the most common ordinaries; two lines from the dexter corner to the sinister base point of the shield; usually one fifth of the field
Bend sinister: a bend extending from the sinister corner to the dexter base point
Bendlet: diminutive of bend; generally half a bend´s width
Bendy: a field divided by a series of diagonal stripes of alternate tinctures
Black: in heraldry called sable
Blazon: to describe a coat of arms in words or scripture using heraldic terms; derived from the German word blasen (to blow) in the sense of to announce
Blazonry: the art of blazoning
Blemished: having an abatement
Blood colour: sanguine; dark red colour
Bloody: gules; red colour
Bordure: border; occupies one fifth of the field, usually the mark of a younger branch of the family
Caboshed: also: cabossed; when the head of a full-faced beast is cut off behind the ears so that no part of the neck is visible
Cadency: marks of cadency, also differences; marks added to family arms to distinguish (members of) differnt branches of the family and their relation to the head of the family
Canting arms: see allusive arms
Canton: a square of two thirds the size of a quarter in the upper dexter corner; augmentations are often borne in a canton
Cantoned: also: cantonée; a cross placed between four charges is said to be cantoned
Carnation: the tincture flesh-coloured
Charge: anything borne on a coat of arms whether on the field, an ordinary or another charge; positions other than in the centre of the field (the fesse-point) must be blazoned
Chequy: also: checky; a field or charge divided into small squares of alternate tincture
Chevalier: a horseman in complete armour
Chevron: an ordinary issuing like the inverted letter V, occupying one fifth of the field
Chief: ordinary, the upper third of the shield; a charge in this part of the shield is said to be "on chief"
Chief point: the upper edge of the shield, can be dexter, sinister or middle
Cinquefoil: a five pointed leaf, usually with pierced center and without stem
Close: applied to birds with folded wings or helmets with closed visors
Cockatrice: a winged monster with a serpents body, a cock´s head and feet and barbed tongue
Colours: in heraldry termed tinctures; there are the five basic colours red, blue, black, green and purple and the two metals silver and gold
Combattant: applied to two beasts facing each other as if in fight
Composed arms: the arms of a gentleman who has added parts of his wife´s arms to his own; the habit has been made obsolete by the introduction of marshalling i.e. the arranging of two or more coats on one shield
Coronet: a small crown worn by noblemen (but not the sovereign); often used synonymously with crown
Counter: opposite or in reverse position
Couped: cut off cleanly; beast´s heads may be couped; hands may be couped at the wrist
Coupe-close: a diminutive of the chevron borne in pairs inclosing the chevron
Courant: running at full speed
Couchant: applied to a beast lying down
Crescent: half moon with upward points; used as a mark of cadency to denote the second son
Crest: ornament on top of the helmet, originally only worn by commanders in battle
Cross: one of the earliest and noblest ordinaries; there are supposed to be several hundred varieties, some of the better known are:
latin cross: lower limb longer than the other three
cross cavalry: a latin cross raised on three steps
cross crosslet: a cross the limbs of which terminated in smaller crosses
maltese cross: a cross formed by four arrowheads meeting at the points
cross pattée: a cross the limbs of which spread out at the ends
cross patriarchal: a cross with two horizontal bars, the upper smaller than the lower bar
Crown: strictly speaking crowns are worn by the sovereign, all other noblemen wear coronets
Damasked: also diapered, intricately ornamented fields or charges; the name derives from richly patterned woven cloths for which the city of damascus was famous
Dexter: on the right side (from the bearer´s point of view)
Diapered: see damasked
Difference: marks of difference; see cadency
Distinction: marks of distinction; also marks of bastardy; show absence of blood relationship eg. in case of adoption
Dolphin: considered to be the king of fish (although it actually is a mammal) just as the lion is the king of beasts and the eagle is the king of birds; always shown embowed; the emblem of the french kings´ eldest sons (dauphins)
Eagle: a favourite charge; considered to be the king of birds; usually shown "displayed" i.e. with wings spread and the tips of the wings pointing outwards, or "displayed inverted" i.e. wings spread, tips pointing downwards
Emblazon: to draw a coat of arms in full and in correct colours; not to be confused with to blazon (to describe in heraldic language)
Embowed: bent or bowed, applied to a man´s arm or to dolphins; synonymously an arm may be flexed
Emerald: the colour green (vert) in the blazoning of jewels
Endorse: a sub-ordinary; diminutive of the pale, usually one eighth of the breadth of the pale, always shown in pairs, one endorse on each side of the pale
Enhanced: applied to an ordinary shown above its normal position
Ensign: correct term for the armorial bearings of a kingdom, an office, a city etc.; in common language one usually speaks of arms
Ensigned: applied to charges with a crown or coronet, a cross or a mitre placed upon it
Ermine: the fur most frequently used in heraldry consisting of black ermine tails on white background
Ermines: reverse of ermine; white tails on black background
Erminites: same as ermine but with two red hairs in the tails
Erminois: black ermine spots on a gold field
Escutcheon: a shield borne as a charge; often more than one is shown e.g. three small shields on the field
Fess: also fesse; one of the most common ordinaries; a horizontal band across the center of the field, occupying one third of it
Fess point: the exact center of the shield
Field: the surface of the shield on which all charges are placed
Fitched: also fitchée or fitchy; pointed at the lower end; usually applied to crosses
Fleur-de-lis: a stylized lily; popular charge; essentially the royal emblem of france
Fourchée: forked; applied to crosses with forked limbs
Fur: amongst the oldest heraldic elements, deriving from the habit of decorating shields with fur and leather; the principal furs are ermine and vair, both existing in several variations
Gold: one of the two metals; blazoned as or
Green: one of the heraldic colours; blazoned as vert
Goutte: also gutte, a drop
Gouttée: also goutty or gutty; strewn with drops
Griffon: also "griffin" or "gryphon"; a mythical beast with the body, legs and tail of a lion and the head, breast and claws of an eagle
Gules: the colour (tincture) red
Gyron: a spanish sub-ordinary, derived from the spanish word for a triangular piece of cloth sewed onto garments
Gyronny: a field divided into (generally eight) gyrons
Habited: clothed
Hatchment: a corruption of the word achievement
Helmet: borne above the shield and beneath the crest; the kind of helmet denotes the degree of nobility; sovereigns´ helmets are of gold, shown full-face with six bars. helmets of the high nobility are made of steel with five gold bars and shown somewhat in profile. helmets of baronets and knights are made of steel, shown full-face and open.
Herald: the original duty of the herald was to organize and conduct tournaments but in times became the granting and regulating of armourial bearings and investigating genealogies. heralds kept records of the coats of arms and these rolls of arms laid the foundation to modern heraldry
Heraldry: the art or science of describing (blazoning), deciphering and recording coats of arms
Honour point: the point immediately above the center of the shield
Horned: only applied to animals with horns of a different tincture (colour) than the animal itself
Humettee: also humetty or couped; said of ordinaries with both ends cut off so that they do not reach the edges of the shield
Impaling: also empaling; the setting side by side two or more coats of arms in one shield; see also marshaling
Incensed: said of beasts issuing fire from their mouth or eyes
Increscent: showing a crescent with the horns toward the dexter side of the shield
Indented: notched likt the teeth of a saw
Inescutcheon: a single small shield borne on the main shield
Interlaced: also interfretted; linked together
Inverted: anything shown in contrary direction or upside down, e.g. wings pointing downwards
Irradiated: surrounded by rays
Issuant: a charge issuing from another charge; of animals represented as issuant only the upper half is shown
Jessant: shooting or giving forth; mainly used for plants, particularly to the fleur de lis; also applied to animals synonymously to issuant
Knight: a man holding the dignity of knighthood conferred to him by the sovereign; adressed as Sir, his wife as Dame but more often by common consent as Lady; the dignity of knighthood is not hereditary
Label: a charge resembling a strap with pendants representing collar and cape of a garment or, according to some, the strap across a horse´s chest; generally considered to be a temporary mark of cadency e.g. to distinguish the eldest son during the father´s lifetime
Lambrequin: 1) the mantle placed on a helmet; 2) the point of a label
Lampassé: see also langued; applied to the tongue of a beast or bird when depicted in a different tincture (colour)
Langued: applied to the tongue of a beast or bird when depicted in a different tincture (colour)
Legged: also and more common mebered; applied to legs of birds when depicted in a differen tincture (colour)
Lily: the second most frequently borne flower after the rose
Lion: the most popular beast in heraldry, mostly depicted rampant or passant
Lionced: adorned with lions´ heads
Lodged: applied to a stag when couchant
Lowered: applied to ordinaries abased from their normal position
Lozenge: a diamond shaped bearing
Lozengy: applied to a bearing or field entirely divided into lozenges of alternate tinctures
Lymphad: an ancient one-masted ship; common in scottish heraldry
Majesty: a crowned eagle holding a scepter is said to be "in his majesty"
Mantle: see also lambrequin; a cloak covering the helmet to protect it from sun and rain; sometimes large enough to include the entire arms
Marshaling: the act of arranging two or more coats of arms in one shield to denote the alliances of a family
Martlet: a bird similar to a swallow but with tufts of feathers instead of legs; used as a difference to denote the fourth son
Mascle: a perforated or voided (empty) lozenge
Massacre: a stags antlers attached to a (fragment of a) skull
Masoned: applied to a field or charge divided by lines resembling the lines of a stone or brick wall
Membered: applied to a bird with legs of a different tincture than the bird itself
Merchant´s marks: marks and bearings adopted by merchants, who generally were not allowed to bear arms; not strictly heraldic
Metal: there are two metals in heraldry, gold and silver; see also tincture
Mitre: also miter; the headdress of high episcopal offices; sometimes used as a charge
Mitry: charged with eight mitres
Moon: in heraldry always borne as a crescent; usually with upward points
Mooted: torn up by the roots
Morné: applied to a lion without teeth, tongue or claws
Motto: a word or sentence borne on a scroll, generally below the shield; mottoes were often derived from war cries; frequently mottoes refer to the bearer´s name or to a charge in the arms but most often mottoes express a sentiment or guiding principle
Mount: borne in the lower portion of the shield; tinctured vert; generally borne with a tree on it
Mounted: applied to 1) a horse bearing a rider 2) a cross raised upon steps
Naiant: swimming, describes fish swimming across the shield
Naiant counter-naiant: describes fish swimming in opposite directions
Nerved: a leaf with veins of different tincture
Nimbus: also halo, glory or circle of glory; the ring of light around the heads of Saints, the Holy Lamb et al.
Nowed: knotted, tied to a knot, chiefly applied to serpents or tails of beasts
Oak: tree frequently found in arms; sometimes only branches, sprigs or leaves are born; when blazoned "fructed" a few acorns of different tincture are depicted
Or: the metal gold; frequently represented by the colour yellow, in engraving represented by an infinite number of small dots.
Ordinaries: certain basic geometrical charges, probably originating in bars of wood or iron used to strengthen the shield. There is some confusion about the number of the principal (honourable) ordinaries which are commonly used. Most heralds, however, agree on nine honourable ordinaries, namely cross, chief, pale, bend, bend sinister, fesse, bar, saltire and chevron.
Less commonly used charges, such as bordure, canton, quarter, pile et al. are reckoned sub-ordinaries
Orle: a bordure detached from (not reaching) the sides of the shield
Over all: also surtout; said of a charge superimposed over several other charges or over a particoloured field
Overt: also ouvert; open, applied to gates, doors et al. but also to birds with open wings
Pale: one of the honourable ordinaries; a broad vertical band in the center of the shield, usually occupying one third of its width
Paly: divided by perpendicular lines into an even number of equal parts; the first usually is of a metal, and the last of a colour
Panache: also plume; a fan or bank of three or more (usually ostrich) feathers. If more than three feathers are shown the number must be stated
Panther: always borne gardant (with its face turned towards the spectator) and incensed (with flames issuing from mouth and ears)
Passant: applied to beasts walking across with dexter fore-paw raised
Pelican: almost always shown with raised wings and vulning, i.e. wounding her breast with her beak. If shown vulning in her nest, feeding the young with her blood [which, of course, pelicans don't do! ] she is said to be in her piety
Pierced: applied to charges which are perforated so that the colour of the below shield shows through the hole.
Pile: a sub-ordinary consisting of a triangular wedge ususally but not always issuing from the top of the shield; may be long with its point almost touching the base of the shield or short resembling a chevron reversed. If more than one pile are shown, their points may be in point to differentiate them from those with points apart
Point (of the shield): points describe the position on the shield. English heralds recognise nine points
1. Dexter chief point
2. Middle chief point
3. Sinister chief point
4. Honour, or Collar point, not recognised by French heralds
5. Fesse point
6. Nombril point, not recognised by French heralds
7. Dexter base point
8. Middle base point
9. Sinister base point
Proper: a charge shown in its natural colour is called proper
Quarter: a sub-ordinary occupying one quarter of the shield. If not otherwise stated, it is always in the dexter chief
Quartered: applied when the shield is divided into four or more squares depicting different coats of arms
Quarterly: applied when the shield is divided into four parts belonging to the same coat of arms
Rampant: commonest position of beasts in heraldry with all legs but the left hind leg fiercely waving around.
Reflected: also reflexed; bent back e.g. chains or lion´s tails
Regardant: also reguardant; looking back over the shoulder
Removed: applied to ordinaries which are not in their usual position
Respectant: applied to animals facing each other; if the animals are rampant respectant the term combattant is used
Roundel: also roundle; circle borne on the shield; these circles have different names according to their tincture. Most important are gold = bezant, silver = plate, red = torteau, blue = hurt, green (vert) = pomeis, pomey or pomme, black = pellet, ogress or gunstone
Sable: the tincture (colour) black
Salient: applied to beasts leaping at their prey
Saltire: an honourable ordinary consisting of a diagonal cross on the shield
Sejant: applied to beasts sitting with their forepaws on the ground, except squirrels which have the forepaws raised. Unless otherwise blazoned, body and head face the dexter.
Semé: also semy, strewn, aspersed, replenished, poudré or powdered; strewn or powdered with small charges
Shield: a defensive weapon; in heraldry the actual arms are diplayed on the shield. Click here for a history of the shield
Sinister: on the left side (from the bearer´s point of view)
Slip: a small twig with fewer leaves, usually two or three, than sprigs and branches
Statant: applied to animals standing with all their feet on the ground
Supporters: figures placed left and right of the shield to support it. Today their use is restricted to sovereignity, the peerage, Knights of the Garter and Knights Grand Crosses of the Bath. Several cities and towns as well as the principal Mercantile Companies of the city of London have also been granted the right to bear supporters.
Targe: also target; a round shield with a center boss, also applied to the shield borne at a man´s funeral
Throughout: also entire; applied to charges reaching the edegs of the shield, that normally do not do so
Tierced: also tiercé or triparted; when a shield is divided into three parts per fesse, pale or bend
Tinctures: all the colours, metals and furs in heraldry
Traversed: facing the sinister
Undy: also undé or ondé; wavy
Vair: one of the two principal furs in heraldry, consisting of squirrel skins sewn together head to tail
Vert: the colour green
Vested: also habited; clothes
Volant: a bird flying is called volant
Vulned: wounded and bleeding
Wreath: the twisted band composed of two strips of gold or silver lace and silk where the crest is joined to the helmet; though some wreaths of the fifteenth century were of four tincture