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tressure

[tresh-er]
noun
  1. Heraldry. a narrower diminutive of the orle, usually ornamented with fleurs-de-lis at the edges and often doubled.
  2. Numismatics. an ornamental border enclosing the type on a coin or medal.
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Origin of tressure

1275–1325; late Middle English < Middle French, equivalent to tress(er) to braid, plait (derivative of tresse tress) + -ure -ure; replacing Middle English tressour < Middle French tresseor, tressoir
Related formstres·sured, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tressure

Historical Examples

  • The tressure should be double, but in this instance it is single.

    Royal English Bookbindings

    Cyril Davenport

  • The border surrounding the lion is heraldically known as the tressure.

    The Flags of the World

    F. Edward Hulme

  • The same rule, by the way, applies to the tressure, but not to the orle.

    A Complete Guide to Heraldry

    Arthur Charles Fox-Davies

  • The first authentic illustration of the tressure in the arms of Scotland dates from the year 1260.

    The Flags of the World

    F. Edward Hulme

  • In 1471 there was a curious attempt of the Scottish Parliament to displace the tressure.

    A Complete Guide to Heraldry

    Arthur Charles Fox-Davies

British Dictionary definitions for tressure

tressure

noun
  1. heraldry a narrow inner border on a shield, usually decorated with fleurs-de-lys
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Derived Formstressured, adjective

Word Origin

C14: from Old French tressour, from trecier to plait, from trece tress
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