hatchment

American  

[hach-muhnt] / ˈhætʃ mənt /

noun

Heraldry.

1. a square tablet, set diagonally, bearing the coat of arms of a deceased person.

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hatchment British  

/ ˈhætʃmənt /

noun

1. Also called: achievement.  heraldry a diamond-shaped tablet displaying the coat of arms of a dead person

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Etymology

Origin of hatchment

First recorded in 1540–50; variant (by syncopation and aspiration) of achievement

Example Sentences

Another hatchment with the arms of John Campbell and his second wife Henrietta Villiers — Elizabeth’s sister — made £3,250.

From New York Times • Sep. 16, 2011

The shield on the dexter side of the hatchment is parted per pale; first, the arms of the bishopric; second, the paternal arms of the bishop.

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

An escutcheon or ensign armorial; now generally applied to the funeral shield commonly called hatchment.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

It was a feminine hatchment, and indeed a few years back had served as a funeral compliment to Sir Pitt's old mother, the late dowager Lady Crawley.

From Vanity Fair by Thackeray, William Makepeace

The most eminent lawyers and doctors lived in it; and there was more than one frontage which displayed a hatchment, left to grow faded and discolored long after the year of mourning was ended.

From Cobwebs and Cables by Stretton, Hesba