Dictionary Definition
armiger
Noun
1 a squire carrying the armor of a knight [syn:
armor-bearer]
2 a nobleman entitled to bear heraldic arms
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Noun
armiger- A knight entitled to bear a coat of arms.
- A squire carrying the armour of a knight.
Latin
- armed, carrying weapons or armor
Synonyms
Noun
, (feminine: armigera)- armor-bearer
Inflection
Extensive Definition
- Armiger may also refer to the AGM Armiger anti-radiation missile.
An armiger is a person entitled to use a coat of
arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous.
Originally an armiger was an Armour-Bearer or
Esquire,
attendant upon a Knight, but bearing
his own unique armorial device.
The term "armiger" is well-defined only within
jurisdictions (such as the United
Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, and
Spain) where
heraldry is regulated
by the state or heraldic body (such as the College of
Arms in England, Wales, and Northern
Ireland, the
Office of the Chief Herald in Ireland
or the Court
of the Lord Lyon in Scotland), since
anyone may use any coat of arms in jurisdictions, such as the
United
States, which lack regulated heraldry. In the Netherlands
titles of nobility are regulated by law but heraldry is not.
A person can be so entitled either by descent
from a person with a right to bear a coat of
arms, or by virtue of a grant of arms to him or herself.
Armiger was also used as a Latin cognomen, and is now found as a
rare surname in English-speaking countries.
References
armiger in Polish: Armiger
armiger in Simple English:
Armigerous