Bendlet

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A narrow heraldic band, typically one-fourth the width of a standard diagonal stripe, used as a charge or bearing on a shield
2. A slender decorative band in heraldry that is narrower than a regular diagonal stripe and typically signifies a minor element on a coat of arms
3. A small and narrow decorative strip in heraldry functioning as a minor element on a shield that is distinct from wider diagonal markings

Etymology: In heraldry, a bendlet is a narrow band, a quarter the width of a bend, that runs diagonally across a shield. The word is a simple formation: "bend" (the broad diagonal stripe, from Old English "bendan," to bend or to bind) plus the diminutive suffix "-let," which entered English from Old French "-elet" and reached Middle English in the same sense it has in words like "streamlet" or "booklet." The shield's bend and its smaller relative were named for the same act of binding, with the diminutive marking the thinner stripe. The suffix shows the word's logic clearly: a bendlet is literally a "little bend," so heralds did not need a separate vocabulary for the thinner band. Its origin lies in the Proto-Germanic root for binding, which also gave English its verb "bend," and that same verb sits behind the broader stripe it miniaturises.