fleur-de-lis

Alternative forms

fleur de lis, fleur-de-lys
(archaic) flower-de-lis, flower de lis
(obsolete) fleur-de-luce, flour-delice, flower delice, flower-de-luce

Etymology

From earlier flower-de-luce, from Middle English flourdelis, from Anglo-Norman flour de lis (“lily flower”); later remodelled after modern French fleur de lis (“lily flower”).

Pronunciation

(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌflɝdəˈlis/, /ˌflɝdəˈli/
Audio (US): (file)
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌflɜːdəˈliːs/, /ˌflɜːdəˈliː/

Noun

fleur-de-lis (plural fleurs-de-lis or fleur-de-lises or fleur-de-lisses)

(heraldry) A design representing a flower whose three petals are joined together at the bottom (⚜, ⚜️), often used in heraldry, where it is particularly associated with the French monarchy.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
  Adorned all with gemmes of endlesse price, […] And all embost with Lyons and with Flour-delice.
- a. 1700?, The Pepys Ballads, published 1987, page 73:
  And waſh the Sanguin’d Fleur-de-Liſſes white.
- 1779, Charles Burlington, “Berkshire”, in The Modern Universal British Traveller; or, A New, Complete, and Accurate Tour through England, Wales, Scotland, and the Neighbouring Islands. Comprising All That Is Worthy of Observation in Great Britain. […], London: […] J. Cooke, […], part I (England), book III (The Western Circle of England), chapter section II (Topographical Description of Berkshire), pages 366–367:
  The pillars of the door that opens to this room are compoſed of pikes, on the top of which are two coats of mail, probably thoſe of John king of France, and David king of Scotland, who were priſoners here: they are both inlaid with gold, and are ornamented with fleur-de-liſſes and thiſtles.
- 1818, Hugh Clark, “A Dictionary of the Technical Terms Used in the Science of Heraldry. Part II.”, in A Short and Easy Introduction to Heraldry, in Two Parts. […], the ninth edition, London: […] Edward Edwards, […]; and Rodwell and Martin, […], entry “Tressure”, page 252:
  The tressure flowerie encompasses the lion of Scotland, to shew that he should defend the fleur-de-lisses, and these to continue a defence to the lion, the ancient imperial ensign of Scotland since Fergus I.
- 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 290:
  Just then, an attendant to whom the Queen had whispered returned; and taking a small case from her hand, Anne produced a bracelet somewhat similar to the very one with which Francesca had parted, excepting that it had her cipher, surrounded by a wreath of fleurs-de-lis. "Louis, will you offer this to Mademoiselle Carrara?"
- 1942 December, Joe Archibald, “Pot Luck”, in Flying Aces, page 29:
  “We was not ridin’ with a shipment of fleur-de-lisses,” Phineas countered.
- 1956 July, Col. H. C. B. Rogers, “Railway Heraldry”, in Railway Magazine, page 479:
  The shield was silver, charged with a red cross voided (that is, with the centre cut out and only the edges left), between in chief (that is, above the horizontal limb of the cross) two black dragon's wings, and in base two red daggers, and in the centre of the cross a black winged helmet; on a red chief (a broad band across the top of the shield), a silver pale (a broad vertical band), and thereon eight black arrows crossed X-wise, four and four, and encircled with a black band, between on the dexter three bendlets (narrow bands slanting from dexter chief to sinister base) enhanced (that is, raised above the centre), and on the sinister a fleur-de-lis, all of gold.
- 2013 April 26, Lesley Gillian, The Guardian:
  One room has a pink marble bathroom with a gold fleur de lys pattern around the tub.
(scouting) The main element in the logo of most Scouting organizations, representing a major theme in Scouting: the outdoors and wilderness.