/ · 1894 Brewer’s · P · Purpure [purple]
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
One of the colours of an heraldic escutcheon. It is expressed by vertical lines running down towards the left hand (as you look at the shield lying before you); “Vert” runs the contrary way.
English heralds vary escutcheons by seven colours; foreign heralds by nine. (See Heralds.)
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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.