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The Greaves Canadian Heraldic Dictionary

Dictionary entries beginning with the letter A Dictionary entries beginning with the letter B Dictionary entries beginning with the letter C Dictionary entries beginning with the letter D Dictionary entries beginning with the letter E Dictionary entries beginning with the letter F Dictionary entries beginning with the letter G Dictionary entries beginning with the letter H Dictionary entries beginning with the letter I Dictionary entries beginning with the letter J Dictionary entries beginning with the letter K Dictionary entries beginning with the letter L Dictionary entries beginning with the letter M Dictionary entries beginning with the letter N Dictionary entries beginning with the letter O Dictionary entries beginning with the letter P Dictionary entries beginning with the letter Q Dictionary entries beginning with the letter R Dictionary entries beginning with the letter S Dictionary entries beginning with the letter T Dictionary entries beginning with the letter U Dictionary entries beginning with the letter V Dictionary entries beginning with the letter W Dictionary entries beginning with the letter X Dictionary entries beginning with the letter Y Dictionary entries beginning with the letter Z

Term Source Meaning Illustration
Fan Wilgress A Canadian term for a display of feathers – a variant of the more traditional plume (in British heraldry, the term fan usually refers to a winnowing-fan).
Fenghuang Wong Kung Har Wun Sun Association. Vol VI, P 56 The Fenghuang or Chinese Phoenix is a symbol of peace and prosperity.
Ferruginous Hawk Town of Morinville, Alberta. Vol IV, P 281 The Ferruginous Hawk (so named for its rust-coloured breast) is the largest of the North American buteo hawks, often mistaken for an eagle.
Fiddlehead Coronet McCain, M.N., Vol III, P 22 This distinctively Canadian Coronet uses the fiddlehead fronds to suggest the Province of New Brunswick, where they are a commercial crop.
Field Battery Gun Rigby, F.N., (Banner) Vol V, P 128 The Field Gun is so-called because it is transportable on the battlefield. The gun pictured dates to the 18th Century, and is used to refer to artillery in general.
Fireweed - Heraldic Yukon Territory (Flag) Vol VI, P 11 The Fireweed is the Territorial flower of the Yukon.
Fireweed Flower - Natural Provincial Flowers of Canada The Fireweed, shown here in its natural form, is the Territorial flower of the Yukon.
Flatbed Printing Press Clarke, C. J.oseph. Vol II, P 369 The Flatbed Press, in which the paper is compressed between two flat surfaces, one of them with inked type, goes back in Europe to the late Middle ages. It has been largely replaced by the much larger, electric presses of today, but is still used for hand-printing small or very specialized runs of print. It alludes to the family’s association with newspapers and journalism.
Flint Spearhead HMCS Anticosti (Badge) Vol II, P 407 Anticosti is a large island located where the St. Lawrence River enters the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Before the arrival of Europeans in 1534, it was an important hunting ground for native peoples, mostly Micmac and Innu. The Flint Spearhead is a reference to their weapons, as it is to weapons in general.
Flotant Gary A. Mitchell The term flotant (usually reserved in British blazon to a charge floating in the air), has been used in Canadian practice to apply to a creature – such as the otter shown here – floating on its back in water.
Fly Fishing Rod Clements, G.R. Vol III, P 130 The Fly Fishing Rod refers to the grantee’s enthusiasm for the sport.
Foil St. Paul's Cathedral, Regina The blazon of the arms notes "foils of poplar " as being on the bordure. Here the word foil has been coined to refer to the outline or shape of a stemmed leaf, without veins or other features, on the same principle as the terms trefoil and cinquefoil, which refer to multi-lobed leaves (Latin folium). The shape, as indicated, is that of a poplar leaf.
Fox, Arctic Melançon, R.F., Vol VI, P 89 The white or Arctic Fox is a characteristic animal of the Canadian north. It may also be used to symbolize the idea of winter.
Franciscan Cord Assoc. des Bourgeois de Descendance Acadienne. Vol VI, P 274 The Franciscan Cord refers to the cords that gird the robes of Franciscan Friars. Here it alludes to the ship, Saint Francois, on which the original Jacques Burgeois arrived at Port-Royal.