saltire

English

WOTD – 30 November 2016

The Saint Andrew's cross or saltire (sense 2), the national flag of Scotland

Saint Patrick's Cross, a red saltire (sense 1) on a white background

Etymology

From Middle French saultoir (“stile, saltire”) (compare French sautoir (“saltire”)), from sauter (“to jump, to leap”) +‎ -oir (“suffix forming objects”), from Latin saltare (“to dance, to jump”) + -orium, -oria.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsæl.taɪə/, /ˈsɔːl-/
• Hyphenation: sal‧tire

Noun

saltire (plural saltires)

1. (heraldry) An ordinary (geometric design) in the shape of an X. It usually occupies the entire field in which it is placed.
2. The Saint Andrew's cross, the flag of Scotland.
   • 2011 October 1, Tom Fordyce, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16 – 12 Scotland”, in BBC Sport‎^[1], archived from the original on 26 September 2016:

     But the World Cup winning veteran's left boot was awry again, the attempt sliced horribly wide of the left upright, and the saltires were waving aloft again a moment later when a long pass in the England midfield was picked off to almost offer up a breakaway try.

Synonyms

• (heraldry): crux decussata
• (flag of Scotland): Saint Andrew's cross

Translations

Saint Andrew's cross — see Saint Andrew's cross

Anagrams

• A-lister, Altiers, Lasiter, Raelist, airtels, railest, realist, retails, saltier, slatier, tailers