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hatchment

[hach-muh nt]
noun Heraldry.
  1. a square tablet, set diagonally, bearing the coat of arms of a deceased person.
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Origin of hatchment

First recorded in 1540–50; variant (by syncopation and aspiration) of achievement
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hatchment

Historical Examples

  • For hatchment we find in the 16th century achement, and even achievement.

    The Romance of Words (4th ed.)

    Ernest Weekley

  • An earl's coronet now figured on the hatchment which hung over Castlewood gate—and there was an end of the jolly gentleman.

    The Virginians

    William Makepeace Thackeray

  • It may be questioned if a hatchment is now hung up, either on the dwelling, or in a church, in any part of America.

    Satanstoe

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • The cessation of the ceremonial funeral, no doubt, led to the cult of the hatchment.

    A Complete Guide to Heraldry

    Arthur Charles Fox-Davies

  • If the family bore arms, the hatchment, emblazoned with this emblem, was hung upon the door.

British Dictionary definitions for hatchment

hatchment

noun
  1. heraldry a diamond-shaped tablet displaying the coat of arms of a dead personAlso called: achievement
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Word Origin

C16: changed from achievement
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