saltire
/ˈsæl.taɪə/ noun
Forms saltires
- noun (heraldry) An ordinary (geometric design) in the shape of an X. It usually occupies the entire field in which it is placed.
- noun The Saint Andrew's cross, the flag of Scotland.
- noun The Saint Patrick's Cross, the pre 1922 flag of Ireland.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English sawtoure, from Old French sautoir (“stile, saltire”) (compare French sautoir (“saltire”)), from sauter (“to jump, to leap”) + -oir (subject forming nouns denoting physical objects from verbs), from Latin saltāre (“to dance, to jump”) + -orium, -oria.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [F. sautoir, fr. LL. saltatorium a sort of stirrup, fr. L. saltatorius saltatory. See Saltatory, Sally, v.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “saltire”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details