saltire

[ sal-teer, -tahyuhr, sawl- ]

nounHeraldry.

an ordinary in the form of a cross with arms running diagonally from the dexter chief to the sinister base and from the sinister chief to the dexter base; St. Andrew's cross.

Idioms about saltire

in saltire, (of charges) arranged in the form of a saltire.
per saltire, diagonally in both directions: party per saltire.

Origin of saltire

1350–1400; Middle English sawtire<Middle French sautoir crossed jumping bar <Medieval Latin saltātōrium something pertaining to jumping; see saltant, -tory²

Also saltier.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use saltire in a sentence

Hilton of Westmoreland bore “Sable three rings gold and two saltires silver in the chief.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 3 | Various
You are very closely allied to the Percies, and the Saltires have Percy blood in them also.
The Stark Munro Letters | J. Stark Munro

British Dictionary definitions for saltire

saltire

less commonly saltier

/ (ˈsɔːlˌtaɪə) /

noun

heraldry an ordinary consisting of a diagonal cross on a shield

Origin of saltire

C14 sawturoure, from Old French sauteour cross-shaped barricade, from saulter to jump, from Latin saltāre

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

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