Fess
/fɛs/noun
A horizontal band across a shield, or a verb meaning to confess or admit.
Did you know?Heraldic fess comes from Old French and ultimately Latin, while the verb sense in English is a shortened form of “confess,” showing how words can split into noble symbols and whispered admissions.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dheh₁-
“to put, place, set”
Latin
Latin
fēstus
“set, fixed; in heraldic usage, associated with a horizontal band”
Old French
Old French
fesse
“a horizontal band on a shield”
Middle English
English
fess
“a horizontal band in heraldry”
Modern English
English
fess
“a heraldic band; also a colloquial verb meaning to confess”
Explore more surprising origins