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

Thus a bend proceeding from the top of the left side of the shield is called a bend sinister.

From The Manual of Heraldry; Fifth Edition Being a Concise Description of the Several Terms Used, and Containing a Dictionary of Every Designation in the Science by Anonymous

To which I could only reply, "Madam, I have never yet discovered the bend sinister on our escutcheon."

From Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 113, December 27, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by Various

Remember that most all slang is of vulgar origin and bears upon its face the bend sinister of vulgarity.

From How to Speak and Write Correctly by Devlin, Joseph