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Glite Dictionary
🛡️ A symbol bird 🐦 A small swallow
martlet

martlet

9.9
A bird shown without feet used as a symbol on shields
  • noun
  • /ˈmɑrtlɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : martinete
  • The artist carefully painted the martlet on the shield, ensuring it captured the elegance of this traditional heraldic symbol.

Examples

  • Among them were Markovites in armor, men-at-arms wearing a little yellow badge shaped like a bird—the d'Medved golden martlet.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Aunt "Ghul" was right; the riders below wore the embattled blue bend of Royal Horse Guards—not the D'Medved martlet Or.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The coat of arms featured a martlet, symbolizing peace and tranquility in the family's heritage.

  • In the heraldic display, the martlet represented a noble lineage, depicted as a footless bird soaring gracefully.

Surface Forms

martlet singular
martlets plural

Morphology

martlet = martin (opaque) = martin + let

Although historically formed from a diminutive of 'martin', the heraldic sense 'stylized, footless bird' is a specialized meaning that cannot be reliably derived by learners from the base.

Etymology

Martlet comes from the bird name martin plus the little ending -let meaning 'small', so it once meant a 'small martin'. In coats of arms the martlet is often shown without feet to suggest 'constant flight', which is why this heraldic bird stands for continuous or tireless effort.