‖ ˈnombril Her.
[F. nombril the navel.]
That point on an escutcheon which lies midway between the true centre (or Fesse Point) and the Base Point. Sometimes vaguely alluded to as the centre of the escutcheon. Also attrib.
| 1562 Legh Armory (1597) 25 The letter H. is termed the Fesse point. The letter I. is called the Nombril. For it is euen opposite to the nauel. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry i. vii. 30 The Nombrill is next vnderneath the Fesse Point, answering in a like distance from the Fesse Point. 1661 Morgan Sph. Gentry iii. vi. 57 All meeting or centring about a round plate of the same in the Nombril of the Shield. 1727 Bailey (vol. II.) s.v., The first of those [parts] is the Nombril, and the lowest the Base. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) VIII. 441/2, E the fess point. F the nombril point. 1868 Cussans Her. ii. 44 In English Heraldry, mention is seldom made of the Honour and Nombril points. |