Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An officer in the British Colleges of Heralds who ranks below a herald.
- noun A follower or attendant.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To pursue; follow after; chase.
- noun A follower, attendant, or messenger; especially, one who attended the king in his wars.
- noun A state messenger; an officer who executes warrants.
- noun One of the third and lowest order of heraldic officers.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb Obs. & R. To pursue.
- noun (Heralds' College) A functionary of lower rank than a herald, but discharging similar duties; -- called also
pursuivant at arms ; an attendant of the heralds. Also used figuratively. - noun The king's messenger; a state messenger.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun archaic
follower - noun heraldry a
herald of the College of Arms - noun freemasonry a Grand Lodge Officer who guards the inner door during a meeting of the Grand Lodge
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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And once a royal messenger (called a pursuivant-at-arms) came down in person, and carried the great lady to London, and there she stayed many days, and was threatened with many things and great punishments, yea, even to be tried by the Lord Jeffreys for high treason, in resisting the king's order to deliver up her grandchild to its natural guardian -- which was its father, the Viscount Mallerden, now created by royal favour
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 55, No. 344, June, 1844 Various
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It's a mushroom cloud field with a velociraptor/"Gray" alien hybrid pursuivant.
amuchmoreexotic: Is this the most evil food mascot ever created? amuchmoreexotic 2008
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It's a mushroom cloud field with a velociraptor/"Gray" alien hybrid pursuivant.
Is it wrong to find this genuine Finnish clothing store funny? amuchmoreexotic 2008
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Yet she also employed the services of her own pursuivant and torturer of Catholic priests, Richard Topcliffe.
Archive 2009-04-01 elena maria vidal 2009
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Yet she also employed the services of her own pursuivant and torturer of Catholic priests, Richard Topcliffe.
Supremacy and Survival elena maria vidal 2009
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The Duke having given a ready assent, the pursuivant was dismissed accordingly, and returned in a few hours, so near had the armies approached to each other.
Anne of Geierstein 2008
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The pursuivant made himself known to some of the household, and the Englishmen were immediately received with courtesy, though not such as to draw attention upon them, and conveyed to a neighboring tent, the residence of a general officer, which they were given to understand was destined for their accommodation, and where their packages accordingly were deposited, and refreshments offered them.
Anne of Geierstein 2008
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“Spare your threats,” said Murray; “it may be, my purpose with Sir Piercie Shafton is not such as thou dost suppose — Attach him, pursuivant, as our prisoner, rescue or no rescue.”
The Monastery 2008
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This hapless dissyllable my uncle carried in person to the herald office in Scotland; but neither Lyon, nor Marchmont, nor Islay, nor Snadoun, neither herald nor pursuivant, would patronise Scrogie. —
Saint Ronan's Well 2008
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In the mean time, a royal pursuivant was despatched to the
vanishedone commented on the word pursuivant
As in the heralds Bluemantle Pursuivant, Portcullis Pursuivant, Rouge Croix Pursuivant and Rouge Dragon Pursuivant.
August 13, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word pursuivant
Love this word! :)
August 13, 2008