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armes parlantes

British  
/ arm parlɑ̃t /

plural noun

  1. heraldry arms using devices to illustrate the name of the bearers, such as a rose and a wall to illustrate the name Rosewall

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of armes parlantes

literally: speaking arms

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Leigh and others call them gorges; but the charge properly known by that name is a whirlpool, as borne in the armes parlantes of the family of Gorges.

From Project Gutenberg

At present, I shall confine myself to the second class, which are called, in Latin blazon, Arma Cantantia, in French, Armes Parlantes, and in English, Canting Arms.

From Project Gutenberg

II., armes parlantes are still more abundant.

From Project Gutenberg

Time has also dealt leniently with the picture, for it is as clear and bright as the day it was painted, and is carefully preserved in its original frame, into which a sliding wooden panel is made to fit and cover it: the outside being emblazoned with the armes parlantes of the family of Holzschuher—a wooden shoe, raised from the ground in the manner of the Venetian chopine.

From Project Gutenberg

I may confess, however, that in later years, when my fortune had bettered, I assumed those armes parlantes, if only as a brave device wherewith to seal a letter.

From Project Gutenberg