bend sinister

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.

That in heraldry, a bend sinister indicates bastardy.

From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2019

There were several generations of them, and used for their arms those of Bonville with the addition of a bend sinister; they also became extinct.

From The Strife of the Roses and Days of the Tudors in the West by Rogers, William Henry Hamilton

It is a diminutive of the bend sinister, of which it is one-fourth in width, couped or cut short at the ends, so as not to touch the corners of the shield.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 3 Atrebates to Bedlis by Various

That a market should be held upon the Sabbath in this city, is a "bend sinister" upon its escutcheon.

From The South-West By a Yankee. In Two Volumes. Volume 2 by Ingraham, Jonathon Holt

His descent was noble on one side, with or without the bend sinister, which he said he would never have disclaimed, had it been his, but which he did not happen to inherit. 

From Essays in Little by Lang, Andrew