What does escroll mean?
Escroll is a noun denoting a ribbon- or scroll-like band, most often one that carries an inscription or serves as a decorative element in heraldry and architectural ornament. In coats of arms, an escroll typically appears beneath the shield, curling at its ends and bearing a motto or family name. Beyond heraldry, the word has occasionally been applied to scrollwork motifs in furniture, ironwork, and manuscript illumination. Today it is decidedly uncommon: modern writers overwhelmingly use "scroll," and "escroll" survives chiefly in antiquarian description, armorial reference works, and quotations from earlier centuries. Its meaning overlaps with related terms such as "banderole" and "cartouche," though those words carry their own precise conventions. For readers, encountering "escroll" is usually a signal of historical or specialist context rather than everyday prose.
nounA scroll or ribbon-like band, especially one bearing an inscription or used as an ornamental device in heraldry and decorative design. The word is largely archaic or specialized, now typically encountered as a variant spelling of "scroll."
- An ornamental ribbon or band bearing an inscription, especially in heraldic or decorative design.
- An archaic or dialectal variant of "scroll": a roll of parchment or a spiral ornament.
"The coat of arms was surmounted by an escroll inscribed with the family motto."
"Beneath the shield, an escroll displayed the knight's motto in gilt lettering."
"The architect's drawings showed delicate escrolls winding through the ironwork of the balcony."
The plural simply adds -s, following regular English noun inflection.
"The monument's pediment was carved with escrolls framing the inscription."
Before "scroll" took over, English writers reached for "escroll" — a fancier cousin of the word that survives today mostly in coats of arms and old armorial descriptions.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of escroll
Escroll derives from the Old French "escroue" or "escroe" (also appearing as "escrolle"), meaning a strip or scrap of parchment, which in turn traces back to a Germanic root reflected in words like "shred." It entered Middle English as a variant of "scroll," with the initial "e-" arising from the French article-influenced forms. It is thus a doublet-like sibling of "scroll" and is distantly related to "enroll" and to the legal term "escrow."
How escroll is actually used
"Escroll" is rare in contemporary English and belongs mainly to heraldic, antiquarian, or historical registers. In everyday writing, "scroll" is the expected form; "escroll" is best reserved for contexts describing coats of arms or quoting older texts.
Easily confused with escroll
"Scroll" is the standard modern word for a rolled document or spiral ornament, while "escroll" is an archaic or heraldic variant form referring chiefly to an inscribed ribbon or band.
"Escrow" is a legal arrangement in which funds or documents are held by a third party, whereas "escroll" is a noun for a decorative or inscribed ribbon.