Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having a cluster of three buttons or knobs at the end of each arm: Used specifically in heraldry to describe a cross where each arm terminates in a trefoil shape, resembling a cluster of three roundels or buttons.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The family crest featured a distinctive botonee cross.
  • In heraldic art, a botonee cross is also sometimes called a "cross trefly."

Advanced Usage

• "Botonee cross": The standard heraldic term for the specific cross shape described by the adjective.
  • The knight's shield was emblazoned with a botonee cross.

Variants and Related Words

• Bottony (adj): An alternative spelling and form of the same heraldic term.
  • The manuscript described the emblem as a cross bottony.

Synonyms

• Trefly: In heraldry, can be used to describe a similar trefoil termination.
• Cross bottony: The full nominal phrase for the heraldic charge.

Notes on Meaning

This is a highly specialized term used almost exclusively in the context of heraldry (the system of designing and describing coats of arms). It does not have general, everyday meanings or applications.

Adjective

1. (of a heraldic cross) having a cluster of three buttons or knobs at the end of each arm