armorial, a. and n.
(ɑːˈmɔərɪəl)
[f. armory + -al1. Cf. mod.Fr. armorial.]
A. adj.
1. Pertaining to heraldic arms.
| 1576 Thynne Burghley's Crest 295 An olde armoriall booke. 1683 Brit. Spec. 179 The Soveraign Ensigns Armorial of the King of Great Britain. 1803 Southey Sel. Lett. (1856) I. 224, I often found my armorial vocabulary scant. 1857 Buckle Civilis. I. ix. 562 In the twelfth century armorial bearings were invented. |
2. Of porcelain, etc., bearing heraldic arms.
| 1907 F. A. Crisp (title) Armorial China. A Catalogue of Chinese Porcelain with Coats of Arms in the Possession of Frederick Arthur Crisp. 1925 A. Tudor-Craig Armorial Porc. 18th Cent. iii. 10 Errors in many of the coats of arms on armorial china. 1933 Burlington Mag. June p. xvii/1 The fine display at the recent British Antique Dealers' exhibition of armorial porcelain. |
B. n. A book containing coats of arms.
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v., In this sense we meet with the French Armorial, the Spanish Armorial. c 1800 (title) An Armorial of the Extinct and Dormant Peerage of England. |