crest

crest

crest, in feudal livery, an ornament of the headpiece that afforded protection against a blow. The term is incorrectly used to mean family coat of arms. Crests were widely used in the 13th cent. by feudal chiefs, as they had been by ancient Greek warriors and the Roman centurions. The earlier forms were usually of stuffed leather, gilded, silvered, or painted; later they were of wood or metal. The crest came to be used in heraldry, first only by persons of high rank, then by all those entitled to a coat of arms. It surmounts the escutcheon; its colors are those of the coat of arms. The dragon, wivern, and plume of feathers are common crests. The lion, used by Edward III of England, remains the crest of the English sovereigns. See also blazonry.

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Crest

Ornament on a roof, a roof screen or wall, which is frequently perforated, and consists of rhythmic and identical decorative patterns.

Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Crest

 

(1) A bony protrusion in vertebrates and man that increases the area for muscle attachment. For example, the skulls of many mammals have, on the occipital and parietal bones, crests whose size depends upon the degree of development of the attached musculature. The sternum of flying birds has a high thin crest called the carina, to which the pectoral muscles, which draw the wings downward, are attached.

(2) A fleshy growth (in English, also called the comb) at the top of the head in some birds (many gallinaceans and accipi-ters, such as the American black vulture). In breeds of domestic fowl the crest takes a variety of forms (foliate, rosaceous, or nutlike). Varieties of chicken with well-developed tufts usually have no comb (for example, the Dutch and Padua hens).

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

crest

[krest]

(design engineering)

The top of a screw thread.

(science and technology)

The highest point of a structure or natural formation, such as the top edge of a dam, the ridge of a roof, the highest point of a gravity wave, or the highest natural projection of a hill or mountain.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

crest

crest, 2

1. A finial.

2. An ornament of a roof, a roof screen, wall, or aedicula, generally rhythmic and highly decorative, and frequently perforated; cresting.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

crest

1. a tuft or growth of feathers, fur, or skin along the top of the heads of some birds, reptiles, and other animals

2. a ridge on the neck of a horse, dog, lion, etc.

3. the mane or hair growing from this ridge

4. a ridge along the surface of a bone

5. Archery identifying rings painted around an arrow shaft

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005