gules

See also: gulēs and güləş

English

Alternative forms

• gu. or g. (in heraldic contexts)

Etymology

From Middle English goules, from Old French geule (“animal’s mouth, throat”) via Middle French geules. Compare with French gueules, Portuguese goelas and Spanish gules.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡjuːlz/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɡjulz/, /ˈɡulz/
• Homophone: ghouls (one pronunciation)
• Rhymes: -uːlz

Noun

gules (uncountable)

1. (heraldry) Red, e.g. on a coat of arms, typically represented in engraving by vertical parallel lines.

   gules:  

Derived terms

• guly

Translations

blazoning term for red

• Danish: rød (da)
• Dutch: keel (nl)
• Finnish: punainen (fi)
• French: gueules (fr) m
• German: Rot (de)
• Hindi: लाल (hi) (lāl)
• Italian: rosso (it)
• Macedonian: црвена f (crvena)
• Portuguese: goles (pt), vermelho (pt)
• Romanian: roșu (ro)
• Russian: че́рвлень (ru) (čérvlenʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: црвена f

  Roman: crvena (sh) f

• Slovak: červená
• Spanish: gules (es)
• Swedish: rött (sv) n

Adjective

gules

1. (heraldry) In blazon, of the colour red.

   The symbol of the Red Cross is a cross gules.

   • 1602, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, ii 2:

     Now is he total gules, horridly tricked

   • 1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oedipus Tyrannus; Or, Swellfoot The Tyrant: A Tragedy in Two Acts:

     You know they still
     Call themselves Bulls, though thus degenerate,
     And everything relating to a Bull
     Is popular and respectable in Thebes.
     Their arms are seven Bulls in a field gules;
     They think their strength consists in eating beef,—

Translations

heraldry, of the colour red

• Bulgarian: червен (bg) (červen)
• Danish: rød (da)
• Dutch: rood (nl), keel (nl)
• Finnish: punainen (fi)
• French: gueules (fr)
• German: rot (de)
• Hungarian: vörös (hu)
• Italian: rosso (it)
• Macedonian: црвен m (crven)
• Polish: czerwony (pl)
• Portuguese: goles (pt)
• Romanian: roșu (ro)
• Russian: кра́сный (ru) (krásnyj), червлёный (ru) m (červljónyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: црвена f

  Roman: crvena (sh) f

• Spanish: gules (es)
• Swedish: röd (sv)

Noun

gules

1. plural of gule

See also

redsedit

• blood red
• brick red
• burgundy
• cardinal
• carmine
• carnation
• cerise
• cherry
• cherry red
• Chinese red
• cinnabar
• claret
• crimson
• damask
• fire brick
• fire engine red
• flame
• flamingo
• fuchsia
• garnet
• geranium
• gules
• hot pink
• incarnadine
• Indian red
• magenta
• maroon
• misty rose
• nacarat
• oxblood
• pillar-box red
• pink
• Pompeian red
• poppy
• raspberry
• red violet
• rose
• rouge
• ruby
• ruddy
• salmon
• sanguine
• scarlet
• shocking pink
• stammel
• strawberry
• Turkey red
• Venetian red
• vermilion
• vinaceous
• vinous
• violet red
• wine

	metals		main colours				less common colours
tincture	or	argent	gules	azure	sable	vert	purpure	tenné	orange	sanguine
depiction
roundel (in parentheses: semé):	bezant (bezanty)	plate (platy)	torteau (tortelly)	hurt (hurty)	pellet (pellety), ogress	pomme	golpe (golpy)	orange (semé of oranges)		guze (semé of guzes)
goutte (noun) / gutty (adj) thereof:	(goutte / gutty) d'or (of gold)	d'eau (of water)	de sang (of blood)	de larmes (of tears)	de poix (of pitch)	d'huile / d'olive (olive oil)
	special roundel	furs								additional, uncommon tinctures:
tincture	fountain, syke: barry wavy argent and azure	ermine	ermines, counter-ermine	erminois	pean	vair	counter-vair	potent	counter-potent	bleu celeste, brunâtre, carnation, cendrée (iron, steel, acier), copper, murrey
depiction

Anagrams

• Guels, glues, gusle, luges

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈɡu.ləs]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈɡu.les]

Noun

gules m (uncountable)

1. (heraldry) gules (colour)

Spanish

Adjective

gules (invariable)

1. (heraldry) gules

Noun

gules m (plural gules)

1. (heraldry) gules

Further reading

• “gules”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10