Home › Glossary › Letter C

Countercharged

Heraldic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

In heraldry, "countercharged" describes a shield divided into contrasting tinctures with charges reversed in color across the division.

Detailed Definition
Countercharging involves reversing colors or charges on divided fields to create contrast. In poetry, this can represent juxtaposition or conflicting dualities integral to thematic tension.
Example
Example in poetry:
The field countercharged—argent lions on gules, gules lions on argent—showed balance in opposition; “Countercharged with joy and grief,” the sonnet held both in equal measure; The poet’s mind, countercharged, held fire and ice in creative tension; Countercharged banners flew at the wedding of rival houses, peace in symmetry.
Additional Notes
Countercharged describes a charge divided by a line that reverses the field’s tinctures (e.g., a bend countercharged on a per pale field); it creates visual contrast and balance; in poetry, this term can metaphorically suggest reversal, reciprocity, or internal conflict; it requires careful adherence to the rule of tincture for clarity.
Also Known As
Counter-coloured
Skip to main content