Sinople

The sinople is a heraldic color classified in the enamels .

Green of polychrome representation, it is symbolized by hatchings with 45° on the basis of the top on the left (\ \ \) of monochromic representation engraving, architecture, seals etc)

The origin of the word is mysterious, because sinople initially indicated the red color. The word comes indeed from the town of Sinope, port of Paphlagonie, whose ground was of color red. It is only in the middle of the 14th century that the word changes direction abruptly, without it being known why, to indicate the green

A probable assumption (in any case often quoted) is that the green, quite simply named “green” with its appearance, caused with the oral examination a confusion with “squirrel fur” (but not in England where undoubtedly the English pronunciation preserved “green”). Détrôné by “mouths”, sinople , fallen in disuse, present but misunderstood in the armoriaux old men, would have been interpreted like this awkward “green”, and opportunely recovered.

an old synonym: “prasine”

It is an enamel little employed (especially like field) in the Western armorial bearings, precisely because it comes from the East.

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