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saltire

 - 3 dictionary results

sal⋅tire

  [sal-tir, -tahyuhr, sawl-]
Use saltire in a Sentence
–noun Heraldry.
1. an ordinary in the form of a cross with arms running diagonally from the dexter chief to the sinister base and from the sinister chief to the dexter base; St. Andrew's cross.
—Idioms
2. in saltire, (of charges) arranged in the form of a saltire.
3. per saltire, diagonally in both directions: party per saltire.
Also, saltier.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME sawtire < MF sautoir crossed jumping bar < ML saltātōrium something pertaining to jumping; see saltant, -tory 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sal·tire   (sôl'tîr', -tīr', sāl'-)   


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n.   Heraldry
An ordinary in the shape of a Saint Andrew's cross, formed by the crossing of a bend and a bend sinister.

[Middle English sautour, from Old French saultoir, stile, from saulter, to jump, from Latin saltāre; see saltation.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

saltire 
c.1400, an ordinary on a shield or flag like a St. Andrew's Cross, from M.Fr. saultoir, lit. "stirrup," from M.L. saltatorium, prop. neut. of L. saltatorius "pertaining to leaping," from salire "to leap" (see salient). The connection between a stirrup and the diagonal cross is perhaps the two deltoid shapes that comprise the cross.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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