Source Information

Ancestry.com. Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
Original data: Henry Gough. A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry. Oxford and London, England: James Parker and Company, 1894.

About Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry

This database is a glossary of terms and words used in heraldry. It includes descriptions and explanations of heraldic terms as well as 1,000 illustrations. The terms are listed in the database alphabetically. According to the author, James Parker, most of the words "are derived from the old Norman French of the 13th and 14th century; but have acquired different interpretations in process of time, together with different modes of spelling." Although most of the terms are derived from old French, the glossary does include some common, everyday words as well.