What does botonnee mean?
Botonée is a specialized adjective used in heraldry to describe a charge — most often a cross — whose arms terminate in rounded, button-like or trefoil-shaped ends rather than plain squared tips. The term derives from the French word for button, reflecting the visual resemblance of these lobed extremities to small round fasteners. The cross botonée is among the more recognizable of the many named cross variants in heraldic tradition and appears frequently in medieval seals, church monuments, and institutional arms. Because it belongs to the technical vocabulary of blazon, botonée is rarely met outside heraldic literature, genealogy, and discussions of historic symbolism. For readers studying coats of arms, however, it is an essential descriptive term, distinguishing this rounded, ornamental form from related variants such as the pointed patonce cross or the flat-ended cross pattée.
adjectiveIn heraldry, having arms that terminate in trefoil or knobbed shapes resembling buttons, as in the cross botonée.
- (Of a heraldic charge, especially a cross) having each arm terminating in a rounded trefoil or button-shaped end.
"The coat of arms displayed a cross botonée in gold upon an azure field."
"The medieval seal bore a cross botonée at its center."
"Heraldic artists often rendered the botonée terminals as three small lobes on each arm."
In heraldry, a cross 'botonée' literally ends in buttons — its name comes from the French word for button, making it the only cross style named after a fastener.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of botonnee
Botonée comes from the French adjective botoné, formed from bouton meaning 'button' or 'bud', which itself traces back through Old French to the Latin root buttis, referring to a cask or round swelling. The term was adopted into English heraldic vocabulary during the medieval period, when French was the standard language of blazon. It shares its origin with words such as button and boutonnière, all of which evoke a small rounded protuberance.
How botonnee is actually used
A technical term of heraldry, encountered almost exclusively in descriptions of coats of arms and historical seals. Sometimes spelled 'bottony' or 'botonnee' without the accent. It is formal and specialized vocabulary, not used in everyday English.
Easily confused with botonnee
A patonce cross has flared, pointed ends like a stylized flower petal, whereas a botonée cross ends in rounded, button-like trefoil knobs.