‖ fer-de-lance
(fɛr də lɑ̃s, fɛə də lɑːns, læns)
[Fr. = head of a lance (fer lit. ‘iron’).]
1. Her. A lance-head used as a charge.
| 1892 Woodward & Burnett Heraldry II. 731 Fer-de-lance, sometimes pointed, sometimes blunt. |
2. (See quots.)
| 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 319 The Yellow Viper of Martinique (Bothrops lanceolatus) called Fer-de-Lance there. 1888 Riverside Nat. Hist. III. 396 The genus Trigonocephalus includes the most venomous animal of the western hemisphere, the celebrated fer-de-lance, T. lanceolatus, of Brazil. |