sejant

A lion sejant appears on the royal coat of arms.

Definition

Adjective (Heraldry): - Describing an animal, typically a lion or other beast, depicted in a seated posture with its forelegs upright and hind legs resting on the ground, as if sitting on its haunches.

Usage Examples

• (The lion is shown sitting upright.)

Advanced Usage

• "Sejant erect": a variant posture where the animal sits on its haunches but holds its forelegs raised, as if standing on its hind legs.
  • The crest displays a griffin sejant erect, clutching an escutcheon. (The griffin sits with forelegs lifted.)
• "Sejant affronté": a posture where the animal sits facing the viewer directly.
  • The royal banner shows a sejant affronté lion, gazing outward. (The lion sits facing forward.)

Variants and Related Words

• Sejant (noun): the seated posture itself.
  • The heraldic artist studied the sejant of the beast before painting it. (The seated pose.)
• Sejanty (adj): a rare variant meaning "in a seated posture."
  • The manuscript depicts a sejanty dragon. (The dragon is seated.)

Synonyms

• Seated: placed in a sitting position.
• Couchant (heraldry): an animal lying down with its head raised (contrasting posture to sejant).

Related Idioms

• (No common idioms; the term is specific to heraldry and technical descriptions.)

Phrasal Verbs

• (No phrasal verbs; "sejant" is not used as a verb.)