martlet

American  

[mahrt-lit] / ˈmɑrt lɪt /

noun

1. British Dialect. a house martin.

2. Heraldry. a representation of a swallow close and without legs, used especially as the cadency mark of a fourth son.

---

martlet British  

/ ˈmɑːtlɪt /

noun

1. an archaic name for a martin

2. heraldry a footless bird often found in coats of arms, standing for either a martin or a swallow

---

Etymology

Origin of martlet

1530–40; < Middle French martelet, variant of martinet; see martin, -et

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

martlet

With a fine disregard of both ornithology and heraldry these birds have often been spoken of as martlets—the martlet appearing in the Byrd coat of arms.

From Virginia: the Old Dominion by Frank W. Hutchins

Andrew Harcla, the march-warden, whom Edward II. made an earl and executed as a traitor, bore the arms of St George with a martlet sable in the quarter.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 3 "Helmont, Jean" to "Hernosand" by Various

The hedge-side beggar boasts a crest, Monsieur La Mothe: a martlet with three mullets in chief.

From The Justice of the King by Hamilton Drummond

The allerion is a fabulous bird without either beak or legs, described by some writers as very small, like a martlet, while others give him the size of an eagle.

From The Curiosities of Heraldry by Mark Antony Lower

This guest of summer, The temple-haunting martlet, does approve, By his loved mansionry, that the heaven's breath Smells wooingly here.

From Voices for the Speechless by Abraham Firth

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---