Heraldy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The traditional art and science of designing, recording and interpreting coats of arms and other armorial emblems
2. The system of tracing, describing and displaying the crests, shields and symbols that identify families and institutions
3. Study and practice of armorial bearings, including how coats of arms are designed, granted and blazoned

Etymology: "Heraldy" is a rare variant of "heraldry," the system of armorial emblems and their design. The word came into English in Middle English as "heraldie" or "herialte," borrowed from Middle French "hiraudie," which was itself built from "herald" with the suffix "-y," meaning the office, craft, or matter of heralds. Heralds were the officials who announced tournaments, carried messages between rulers, and kept track of who bore which emblems, so the word grew from their trade into the study and display of the coats of arms they recorded. The spelling "heraldy" survives as an older-style form of the same noun, where the "-ie" and "-y" endings reflect the same French-derived suffix.