passant
/'pæsənt/
Definition
- Adjective:
- In a walking position with the right foreleg raised: Used in heraldry to describe an animal (typically a lion) depicted in profile, walking toward the viewer's left with its head facing forward and its right front leg lifted off the ground.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- The family crest featured a lion passant. (The family crest showed a lion in a walking position with its right foreleg raised.)
- In heraldic art, a beast passant is a common charge. (In heraldic art, an animal depicted walking with a raised foreleg is a common symbol.)
Advanced Usage
- "Lion passant guardant": A specific heraldic term for a lion in a walking position with its head turned to face the viewer.
- The shield was emblazoned with a lion passant guardant.
- "Passant regardant": Refers to an animal in a walking position looking backward over its shoulder.
- The unusual crest depicted a wolf passant regardant.
Variants and Related Words
- Passant en arrière: A heraldic term for an animal depicted as walking backward.
- Statant: An adjective describing an animal standing with all four feet on the ground, a different heraldic posture.
Synonyms
- Walking (in a general, non-heraldic context): Moving by lifting and setting down each foot in turn.
- Ambulant (formal/literary): Walking or moving about.
Notes
- Field-Specific Term: The word "passant" is almost exclusively used in the context of heraldry (the system of designing coats of arms). It is not commonly used in everyday modern English.
- Etymology: The word originates from Old French, meaning "passing by," which relates to the walking posture.
Adjective
-
in walking position with right foreleg raised
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