fess
Noun: 1. A heraldic ordinary: In heraldry, a "fess" is a broad, horizontal band that runs across the center of a shield. It is one of the principal and most common heraldic charges (designs).
The word "fess" is a specialized term used almost exclusively in the context of heraldry (the system of designing and describing coats of arms). It functions as a singular noun to describe a specific graphical element on a shield. * The family crest features a red fess on a field of gold. * A fess is typically drawn as occupying one-third of the shield's height.
- "In fess": A heraldic term describing the arrangement of multiple charges (objects) placed horizontally in a row across the shield.
- Three mullets (stars) were placed in fess across the blue field.
- Fesse: An alternative, though less common, spelling of "fess".
- Barrulet: A very narrow horizontal band, thinner than a fess.
- Bar: A horizontal band that is narrower than a fess. Multiple bars can appear on a single shield.
- Pale: The vertical equivalent of a fess; a broad vertical band down the center of a shield.
- Heraldic ordinary (this is the category to which a fess belongs).
- Horizontal band (a descriptive, non-technical term).
The word "fess" has no common modern meaning outside of heraldry. It is not related to the verb "to confess," from which the slang abbreviation "fess up" is derived. In heraldic descriptions, it is a precise term for a specific design element.
- (heraldry) an ordinary consisting of a broad horizontal band across a shield