Chevron (insignia)
- Chevron (insignia)
-
"Argent a chevron gules"
A chevron (also spelled cheveron, especially in older documents) is an inverted V-shaped pattern. The word is usually used in reference to a kind of fret in architecture, or to a badge or insignia used in military or police uniforms to indicate rank or length of service, or in heraldry and the designs of flags (see flag terminology).
Contents
Ancient history
The chevron occurs in early art including designs on pottery and rock carvings. Examples can be found approximately 1800 BC in archaeological recovery of pottery designs from the palace of Knossos on Crete in the modern day country of Greece.[1]
Sparta (Lacedaemonia (Λακεδαιμωνία)) used a capital lambda (Λ) on their shields.
Heraldry
A chevron is one of the ordinaries in heraldry, one of the simple geometrical figures which are the chief images in many arms. It can be subject to a number of modifications. When the ends are cut off in a way that looks like the splintered ends of a broken piece of wood, with an irregular zig-zag pattern, it is called éclaté.[2] When shown as a smaller size than standard, it is a diminutive called a chevronel.
Chevrons appeared early in the history of heraldry, especially in Normandy. In Scandinavia the chevron is known as sparre; an early example appears in the arms of Arvid Gustavsson Sparre.
-
Chevron wavy: Bioley-Magnoux, Yverdon district, Vaud, Switzerland
-
Chevron inverted: The flag of the North American Vexillological Association.
-
Chevron and chevron inverted, interlaced: Bolligen, Bern district, Canton of Bern, Switzerland
-
Vaumarcus, Boudry district, Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland
-
Two chevronels: Echandens, Morges district, Vaud, Switzerland
-
Chevronny: Avry, Sarine district, Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland
Rank insignia
In areas observing Commonwealth of Nations or United States doctrine, chevrons are used as an insignia of enlisted or NCO rank by military forces and by police. One chevron usually designates a lance corporal, two a corporal, and three a sergeant. One to four "rockers" may be also be incorporated to indicate various grades of sergeant. In American usage, chevrons typically point up, or on shoulderboards towards the neck; in Commonwealth usage they usually point down, or on shoulderboards away from the neck.
In the Commonwealth, the correct terminology for rank chevrons includes the number of stripes, called "bars", therefore, the sergeants' insignia is properly termed a "3-bar chevron". A 1-bar chevron indicates a Private in the Canadian Army or American Army (Corporal) Lance Corporal in other Commonwealth armies, a 2-bar chevron indicates a Corporal, and a 3-bar chevron a Sergeant. Canadian and Australian Forces often refer to chevrons as "hooks."
Examples
-
Single Chevron-Rank: Private E2, US Army.
-
Double Chevron Corporal insignia, Royal Air Force
-
NATO Code OR-4 Specialist/Petty Officer 3
Other uses as insignia
French automobile manufacturer Citroën has used a two-chevron logo along its history.
The 2009-10 version of the Manchester United home kit has a black chevron on the front of the shirt, on the chest. This was added to honour the shirt worn by the club when they first won the FA Cup in 1909.
In some armies, small chevrons are worn on the lower left sleeve to indicate length of service, akin to service stripes in the U.S. military.
During the Gulf War, coalition forces displayed single chevrons on their armoured vehicles to prevent friendly fire incidents.
The Israel Defense Forces use chevrons in various orientations as organisational designators on their vehicles, specifically which company within a battalion they belong to. A downward-pointing chevron would mean it belongs to its battalion's first company, a forward-pointing one to the second, upward the third and backward the fourth company.[3]
NASA also has a chevron in its "meatball" logo.
The Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, a DCI World Class drum corps, uses the chevron as its emblem; many past and present members sport chevron tattoos. The chevron was also the basis for the closing drill formation for its 2006 field show Faust.
See also
- Petrosomatoglyph Chevron symbolism.
- Chevron plot
References
- ^ C.Michael Hogan (2007) Knossos Fieldnotes The Modern Antiquarian
- ^ An example is said to appear in the arms of Blanluz, in Dauphiné. "Frédéric Luz: Grand Armorial Universel". http://www.luz-herald.net/free/b4.html. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
- ^ Gelbart, Marsh (2004). Modern Israeli Tanks and Infantry Carriers 1985-2004. Osprey Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 9781841765792.
Heraldry Categories:- Heraldic ordinaries
- Ornaments
- Military heraldry
- Architectural elements
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Chevron plot — A typical chevron plot observed in protein folding experiments. A chevron plot is a way of representing protein folding kinetic data in the presence of varying concentrations of denaturant that disrupts the protein s native tertiary structure.… … Wikipedia
Chevron butterflyfish — Not to be confused with Chaetodon trifasciatus (Melon Butterflyfish). See also Chaetodon tricinctus (Three striped Butterflyfish) and Three banded Butterflyfish. For the Philippines Chevron Butterflyfish, see Chaetodon xanthurus. Triangulate… … Wikipedia
United States Air Force enlisted rank insignia — The chart below represents the current enlisted rank insignia of the United States Air Force.While all Air Force military personnel are referred to as Airmen , it can specifically refer to the pay grades of E 1 through E 4 which are below the… … Wikipedia
British Army Other Ranks rank insignia — The term used to refer to all ranks below officers is Other Ranks (ORs). It includes Warrant Officers, Non commissioned officers (NCOs) and ordinary soldiers with the rank of Private or equivalent. Officers may, in speaking, distinguish… … Wikipedia
Canadian Forces ranks and insignia — This is a table of the ranks and insignia of the Canadian Forces. As the Canadian Forces is officially bilingual, the French language ranks are presented following the English (in italics). Contents 1 Commander in Chief 2 Flag officer / General… … Wikipedia
Peruvian Navy enlisted rate insignia — are used to display the position of enlisted sailors within this organization. Rankings and their respective insignia are as follows, from higher to lower:* Técnico Supervisor Primero : rate insignia consists of two wide and one narrow half bars… … Wikipedia
Wound Chevron — A Wound Chevron was a badge of the United States Army which was authorized for wear on an Army uniform between the years of 1918 and 1932. The Wound Chevron was displayed on the lower right cuff of a military uniform, and denoted wounds which… … Wikipedia
Swedish Army rank insignia — Rank insignia= * 1 Although Sweden is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation the translations to British Army ranks have been taken from an official Swedish Armed Forces publicationcite web|title=The Facts 2005|publisher=Swedish… … Wikipedia
NASA insignia — NASA insignias NASA meatball insignia 1959–82 and 1992–present … Wikipedia
United States Marine Corps enlisted rank insignia — This chart represents the U.S. Marine Corps enlisted rank insignia with seniority increasing right to left inside a given pay grade. Ranks E 4 and E 5 are non commissioned officers (NCOs). Ranks E 6 and above are Staff Noncommissioned Officer… … Wikipedia
