oriflamme
/ˈɒɹɪflæm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.23 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The red silk banner of St Denis, which the abbot of St Denis gave to French kings as they rode to war in the Middle Ages.
Example Sentences
- "The white banner with the golden lilies of France has been unfurled. The oriflamme has been presented to the virginal bride who stands before the altar in the forest chapel."
- "And be your oriflamme to-day the helmet of Navarre."
- "Please remember that the vocabulary of our readers isn’t very extensive, so don’t go using words like ‘oriflamme’ or ‘inelectable’."
- "This is that famed Martial law, with its Red Flag, its 'Drapeau Rouge:' in virtue of which Mayor Bailly, or any Mayor, has but henceforth to hang out that new Oriflamme of his; then to read or mumble something about the King's peace; and, after certain pauses, serve any undispersing Assemblage with musket-shot...."
- "On the other side Mailey's yellow beard flamed like an oriflamme."
- "Lucette trotted into the room with a child's pink, stiff-bagged butterfly-net in her little fist, like an oriflamme."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: Old French