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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
Raccoon HMCS Raccoon (Second World War Badge). (Internet) The Raccoon is a ubiquitous North American animal, famous for its intelligence, its mask-like face and its dextrous front paws.
Radio Mast Lewis, F.H. (Crest) Vol VI, P 236 The Radio Mast, shown here in the crest, alludes to the grantee’s career in broadcasting, and more broadly to radio communications in general.
Ragdoll Cat Francis, M. E. Vol V, P 236 The Ragdoll Cat is a specific reference to the grantee's pet.
Railway Water Tank Town of Taber, Alberta. Vol IV, P 535 The Railway Water Tank alludes to the location where the Town of Taber developed - a place where the CPR trains had to stop for water.
Ranging Pole Leynard, A.P. Vol V, P 103 The Ranging Pole, as seen here held by a lion, is used by surveyors. It alludes to the grantee's service in the Survey Branch of the Royal Canadian Artillery.
Rapeseed Flower Tisdale, Sask. Vol III, P 331 The Rapeseed Flower refers to the importance of rapeseed agriculture (now referred to as canola) in Saskatchewan.
Raven (First Nations Style) 478 (Nanaimo) Communications Squadron. (Badge) Vol V, P 500 The Raven, in the legends of the First Nations of the Nanaimo area, is the Great Messenger.
Raven Bear Canadian Heraldic Authority. Vol II, P 281 The front half and wings of a raven, the hind-legs and lower half of a bear.
Raven - Haida Style (profile) Pennington-Mayor, A. Vol IV, P 77 This Haida Raven is shown in profile in this canton. It was used in the 1964 silver dollar, and was hand-crafted for presentation to the grantee by her husband on their wedding day.
Raven - Natural Canadian Forces Electronic Warfare Centre (Badge) Vol IV, P 18 The Raven is a highly intelligent bird of the crow family. It is the messenger of Odin in Norse mythology.
Raven-Wolf McKinnon, J.K. (Whitehorse) Vol II, P 174 The Raven-Wolf, shown here in both the arms and supporters, combines the upper body and wings of a raven with the lower parts of wolf.
RCMP Coronet Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Vol II, P 94 The RCMP Coronet shown here was created to symbolize three things; "Royal" (the coronet itself); "Canadian" (the maple leaves); and "Mounted" (the horseshoes).
RCMP Policewoman (modern) City of Regina, Sask. Vol II, P 187 The RCMP Policewoman is shown wearing the Stetson and scarlet tunic identical to the formal uniform of male officers. She is also wearing the gold-striped black trousers and riding boots, permitted to women members of the Force since 2012.
Redbud Tree Reamey, G. D. Vol V, P 43 The rosebud tree is the state tree of Oklahoma, the grantee’s home state. Its Latin name, Cercis canadensis, connects it to his adoptive home of Canada.
Red-Headed Duck Hicky, Thomas (Badge) Vol IV, P 398 The Duck indicates Tom Hickie's enthusiasm for duck-hunting. The red-headed variety alludes to the grantee's red hair.
Red-Tailed Hawk RCAF CF-18 Weapon System Software Unit. (Badge) Vol II, P 320 The Red-tailed Hawk is the most common hawk in North America. It is a large hawk, rich brown above with a reddish tail, and pale, streaked grey beneath. It is a fierce predator, usually found soaring in circles over open fields before swooping on its prey.
Reef Knot Town of Rothesay, NB Vol III, P 290 The Reef Knot on the fess alludes to the idea of seamanship and the shipbuilding history of the area.
Reflected Sureté du Québec. Vol VI, P 108 The term "reflected" refers here to the two chequy piles that face one another in the shield.
Retort Canadian Forces Fire and C.B.R.N Academy. Vol VI, P 112 The Retort, two of which are shown here at the centre of the shield, is an ancient chemical container used for distillation. In this case, it symbolizes chemical and biological hazards.
Retrait Rideau Club The blazon reads: "Azure a chevron Or surmounting a pale retrait in base ..." Retrait is an expression of Canadian blazon meaning "pulled back" and indicating that part of the pale is not shown. A more traditional approach might be: Azure a pale Argent, the upper part couped and surmounted with a chevron Or ..."
Rifle (Lee-Enfield) Canadian Rangers (Badge) Vol III, P 373 The Lee-Enfield Rifle (a bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle) was the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century.
Ringed Seal Irniq, P. Vol. IV, P 133 The ringed seal here represents a sea creature of Nunavut, where the grantee was born.
Rock Dove City of York, Ontario. Vol II, P 291 The Rock Dove is the wild version of the domestic pigeon and has the same significance - that of peace.