or (heraldry)

{{short description|Metal (tincture of gold) in heraldry}}

{{Infobox heraldic tincture

|title = Or

|class = Metal

|non-heraldic_equivalent = Gold or yellow

|hatching = {{Hatching colors|Or}}

|hex = FFFF00

|tricking = o., or.

|gemstone = Topaz

|planet = Sun

|virtue = Faith; obedience, and gentility

}}

In heraldry, or (/ɔːʁ/; French for "gold") is the tincture of gold and, together with argent (silver), belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". In engravings and line drawings, it is hatched using a field of evenly spaced dots. It is very frequently depicted as yellow, though gold leaf was used in many illuminated manuscripts and more extravagant rolls of arms.

The word "gold" is occasionally used in place of "or" in blazon, sometimes to prevent repetition of the word "or" in a blazon, or because this substitution was in fashion when the blazon was first written down, or when it is preferred by the officer of arms.{{cite book|first1= Thomas|last1= Woodcock|author-link1= Thomas Woodcock (officer of arms)|first2= John Martin|last2= Robinson|authorlink2= John Martin Robinson|title= The Oxford Guide to Heraldry|location= Oxford|year= 1988|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 0-19-211658-4|page=54}} The use of "gold" for "or" (and "silver" for "argent") was a short-lived fashion amongst certain heraldic writers in the mid-20th century who attempted to "demystify" and popularise the subject of heraldry.

"Or" is sometimes spelled with a capital letter (e.g. "Gules, a fess Or") so as not to confuse it with the conjunction "or".See Blazon: Capitalization However, this incorrect heraldic usage is not met with in standard reference works such as Bernard Burke's General Armory, 1884 and Debrett's Peerage. Fox-Davies advocated leaving all tinctures uncapitalized. A correctly stated blazon should eliminate any possible confusion between the tincture or and the conjunction "or" (which is rare in blazons in any case), certainly for the reader with a basic competence in heraldry.

Or plain are the arms of Spanish family de Menezes.{{cite web | url=https://www.heraldrysinstitute.com/lang/en/cognomi/Meneses/idc/612830/ | title=Meneses family heraldry genealogy Coat of arms Meneses }}