bend sinister

American  

noun

Heraldry.

1. a diagonal band extending from the sinister chief of an escutcheon to the dexter base: a supposed mark of bastardy.

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bend sinister British  

noun

1. heraldry a diagonal line bisecting a shield from the top right to the bottom left, typically indicating a bastard line

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Etymology

Origin of bend sinister

First recorded in 1615–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bend sinister

That in heraldry, a bend sinister indicates bastardy.

From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2019

The scarpe is the diminutive of the bend sinister, and is half its size.

From The Manual of Heraldry; Fifth Edition Being a Concise Description of the Several Terms Used, and Containing a Dictionary of Every Designation in the Science by Anonymous

The shield was—Per fesse embattled, ar. and sa., three falcons, belted, countercharged—a bend sinister.

From Notes and Queries, Number 47, September 21, 1850 by Various

There were several generations of them, and used for their arms those of Bonville with the addition of a bend sinister; they also became extinct.

From The Strife of the Roses and Days of the Tudors in the West by William Henry Hamilton Rogers

The bend sinister is the same breadth as the bend dexter, and is drawn from the sinister to the dexter side of the shield.

From The Manual of Heraldry; Fifth Edition Being a Concise Description of the Several Terms Used, and Containing a Dictionary of Every Designation in the Science by Anonymous