Cabossed

/kəˈbɑst/ adjective

Definition

In heraldry, describing an animal's head shown frontally and cut off at the neck or shoulders; another variant of caboched.

Etymology

Variant spelling of 'caboched', with '-ss-' reflecting a historical spelling convention. Different heraldic traditions and texts preserve different versions of these technical terms.

Kelly Says

Medieval heraldry is so specialized that you need a dictionary just to describe shields—'cabossed,' 'caboched,' and 'couped' all mean similar things but with subtle differences that coat-of-arms experts distinguish carefully.

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