tergiant

English

A wasp tergiant.

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin tergum.

Adjective

tergiant (not comparable)

1. (heraldry) Showing its back, having its back turned to the viewer.

   Synonyms: recursant, en arrière

   • 1894, Henry Gough, James Parker, A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry, page 578:

     Tortoise [:] this animal is usually borne displayed tergiant in fesse, which position is sometimes described as passant. The term gradient seems to be used to mean the same, and tergiant seems to be implied though not expressed.

   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:tergiant.

Further reading

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “tergant, tergiant, a.”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• aretting, treating