| 词汇 | sinister |
| 释义 | (redirected from sinister)bar sinister1. obsolete In heraldry, a mark that runs from the left shoulder of the bearer down to the right, often used to denote a noble whose parents were not married at the time of the birth. "Sinister" comes from a Latin word meaning "on the left." The young duke, born out of wedlock to the king, wore a bar sinister upon his shield. 2. By extension, the status, stigma, or implication of being born to parents who were not married at the time of the birth. The boy grew up in comfort, but his other brothers never let him forget his bar sinister. bar sinisterA coat of arms ornamentation that is supposedly a sign of illegitimacy. The phrase, which has appeared in the works of novelists Laurence Sterne and Sir Walter Scott, implies a “bar” that prevents the person from a legitimate claim or inheritance, while “sinister” (the heraldic term for a coat of arms' left side) sounds menacing. Although the idea of a bar sinister on an illegitimate person's shield entered popular speech more than two centuries ago, that's not heraldically correct. A patterned border around a shield was the British heraldry way of indicating bastardy, and if you want to be even more technical, a thin diagonal line that does not touch the edges of the shield is a “baton,” not a “bar.” However, people rarely check with the College of Arms before using words and phrases. |
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