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es·cutch·eon 
Audio Help [i-skuhch-uhn] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [i-skuhch-uhn] Pronunciation Key –noun
—Idiom
| 1. | a shield or shieldlike surface on which a coat of arms is depicted. |
| 2. | an ornamental or protective plate around a keyhole, door handle, drawer pull, light switch, etc. |
| 3. | Nautical. a panel on the stern of a vessel bearing its name and port of registry. |
| 4. | blot on one's escutcheon, a stain on one's reputation; disgrace. |
[Origin: 1470–80; < ONF escuchon ≪ L scūtum shield]
] —Related forms
es·cutch·eoned, adjective
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Escutcheon
To learn more about Escutcheon visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
es·cutch·eon
Audio Help (ĭ-skŭch'ən) Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) n.
[Middle English escochon, from Anglo-Norman escuchon, from Vulgar Latin *scūtiō, scūtiōn-, from Latin scūtum, shield; see skei- in Indo-European roots.] es·cutch'eoned adj. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
escutcheon
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| escutcheon | |
noun | |
| 1. | a flat protective covering (on a door or wall etc) to prevent soiling by dirty fingers [syn: finger plate] |
| 2. | (nautical) a plate on a ship's stern on which the name is inscribed |
| 3. | a shield; especially one displaying a coat of arms |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
Escutcheon
Base\, n. [F. base, L. basis, fr. Gr. ? a stepping step, a base, pedestal, fr. ? to go, step, akin to E. come. Cf. Basis, and see Come.]1. The bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that on which something rests for support; the foundation; as, the base of a statue. "The base of mighty mountains." --Prescott. 2. Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the essential principle; a groundwork. 3. (Arch.) (a) The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when treated as a separate feature, usually in projection, or especially ornamented. (b) The lower part of a complete architectural design, as of a monument; also, the lower part of any elaborate piece of furniture or decoration. 4. (Bot.) That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is attached to its support. 5. (Chem.) The positive, or non-acid component of a salt; a substance which, combined with an acid, neutralizes the latter and forms a salt; -- applied also to the hydroxides of the positive elements or radicals, and to certain organic bodies resembling them in their property of forming salts with acids. 6. (Pharmacy) The chief ingredient in a compound. 7. (Dyeing) A substance used as a mordant. --Ure. 8. (Fort.) The exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which connects the salient angles of two adjacent bastions. 9. (Geom.) The line or surface constituting that part of a figure on which it is supposed to stand. 10. (Math.) The number from which a mathematical table is constructed; as, the base of a system of logarithms. 11. [See Base low.] A low, or deep, sound. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part; the deepest male voice. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, base. [Now commonly written bass.] The trebles squeak for fear, the bases roar. --Dryden. 12. (Mil.) A place or tract of country, protected by fortifications, or by natural advantages, from which the operations of an army proceed, forward movements are made, supplies are furnished, etc. 13. (Mil.) The smallest kind of cannon. [Obs.] 14. (Zo["o]l.) That part of an organ by which it is attached to another more central organ. 15. (Crystallog.) The basal plane of a crystal. 16. (Geol.) The ground mass of a rock, especially if not distinctly crystalline. 17. (Her.) The lower part of the field. See Escutcheon. 18. The housing of a horse. [Obs.] 19. pl. A kind of skirt ( often of velvet or brocade, but sometimes of mailed armor) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower. [Obs.] 20. The lower part of a robe or petticoat. [Obs.] 21. An apron. [Obs.] "Bakers in their linen bases." --Marston. 22. The point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or a goal in various games. To their appointed base they went. --Dryden. 23. (Surv.) A line in a survey which, being accurately determined in length and position, serves as the origin from which to compute the distances and positions of any points or objects connected with it by a system of triangles. --Lyman. 24. A rustic play; -- called also prisoner's base, prison base, or bars. "To run the country base." --Shak. 25. (Baseball) Any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of the infield. Altern base. See under Altern. Attic base. (Arch.) See under Attic. Base course. (Arch.) (a) The first or lower course of a foundation wall, made of large stones of a mass of concrete; -- called also foundation course. (b) The architectural member forming the transition between the basement and the wall above. Base hit (Baseball), a hit, by which the batsman, without any error on the part of his opponents, is able to reach the first base without being put out. Base line. (a) A main line taken as a base, as in surveying or in military operations. (b) A line traced round a cannon at the rear of the vent. Base plate, the foundation plate of heavy machinery, as of the steam engine; the bed plate. Base ring (Ordnance), a projecting band of metal around the breech, connected with the body of the gun by a concave molding. --H. L. Scott.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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