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

That in heraldry, a bend sinister indicates bastardy.

From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2019

Thus a bend proceeding from the top of the left side of the shield is called a bend sinister.

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 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

There is a strange bend sinister in human nature, against sincerity, that will indulge itself even at the cost of life itself.

From The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly by Lever, Charles James

All these families bear the arms described by your correspondent, but without the bend sinister.

From Notes and Queries, Number 51, October 19, 1850 by Various