Everything about Trefoil totally explained
Trefoil (from Latin
trifolium, "three-leaved plant", French
trèfle, German
Dreiblatt and
Dreiblattbogen) is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and
Christian symbolism. The term is also applied to other symbols of three-fold shape.
Architecture
Trefoil is a term in
Gothic architecture given to the ornamental foliation or cusping introduced in the heads of window-lights, tracery, panellings, etc., in which the center takes the form of a three-lobed
leaf (formed from three partially-overlapping circles). One of the earliest examples is in the plate tracery at
Winchester (
1222 -
1235). The fourfold version of an architectural trefoil is a
quatrefoil.
A trefoil combined with an equilateral triangle was also a moderately common symbol of the Christian
Trinity during the late Middle Ages in some parts of Europe. Two forms of this are shown below:
Image:Trefoil-Architectural-Equilateral-Triangle-outlined.png|Outlined
Image:Trefoil-Architectural-Equilateral-Triangle-interlaced.png|Interlaced
A dove, symbolic of the
Holy Spirit, is sometimes depicted within the outlined form of the trefoil combined with a triangle.
Heraldry
The heraldic
trefoil is a stylized clover.
It shouldn't be confused with the figure named in French heraldry
tiercefeuille, which is a stylized flower with three petals. It differs from the heraldic trefoil in being not slipped. It could be translated as
threefoil.
Image:Héraldique meuble trèfle 1.svg|Trefoil in heraldry
Image:Blason famille fr Duprat.svg|Or a fess sable between three trefoils vert
Image:Blason ville fr Boissy-sans-Avoir (Yvelines).svg|Gules a cross flory argent between four threefoils or
Symbols
Image:Radioactive.svg|Radioactive hazard trefoil
Image:Biohazard symbol.svg|Biological hazard trefoil
Image:FalloutshelterinmageCivilDefense.jpg|Fallout shelter trefoil.
Trademark
The green trefoil is registered under international trade-mark conventions as a symbol of Ireland. Shamrocks don't appear on Irish coins, bank-notes or postage stamps, as a rule.
Other meanings
A cross-sectional arrangement of electrical cables that minimises electrodynamic forces during fault conditions.Further Information
Get more info on 'Trefoil'.
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