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orle

American  
[awrl] / ɔrl /

noun

  1. Heraldry.

    1. a charge in the form of a narrow band following the form of the escutcheon within the edge, so that the extreme outer edge of the escutcheon is of the field tincture.

    2. an arrangement in orle of small charges.

      azure, an orle of bezants.

  2. Armor.  a thick roll of cloth or leather on a helmet forming a base for an ornamental crest.

  3. Also called orlo.  Also called orletArchitecture.

    1. a border, as one formed by a fillet.

    2. a fillet at the upper end of the shaft of a column.

    3. a fillet between two flutes of a column.


orle British  
/ ɔːl /

noun

  1. heraldry a border around a shield

"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 orle

1565–75; < Middle French: border, edge < Vulgar Latin *ōrulus, diminutive of Latin ōra border

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.

As the remaining spellers dwindled, Shradha was given “orle,” a heraldry term that means several small charges arranged to form a border within the edge of a field.

From Seattle Times

They chose a big orle, so big that the strongest field hands bent their backs under its weight.

From Literature

Paynel bore “Silver two bars sable with a border, or orle, of martlets gules.”

From Project Gutenberg

The voided scocheon is wrongly named in all the heraldry books as an orle, a term which belongs to a number of small charges set round a central charge.

From Project Gutenberg

Thus the martlets in the shield of Erpingham, already described, may be called an orle of martlets or a border of martlets.

From Project Gutenberg