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Voided

Heraldic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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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

Having the interior of a shape cut away, leaving only the outline.

Detailed Definition
In heraldry, voided charges display transparency and contrast, signifying openness or purity framed by form. Poets use the image to evoke absence that defines presence—emotional hollowness, memory’s outline, or the art of meaning shaped by what remains unsaid.
Example
Example in poetry:
The annulet voided, empty center, suggested potential or absence in the charge; “Voided heart,” the elegy pictured love’s hollow where presence once was; The poet described the ring as voided, a circle of memory with nothing inside; In heraldry, voided charges create contrast and lightness; Voided forms teach poets how absence can shape meaning as much as presence.
Additional Notes
Voided means a charge is outlined with a hole in the shape of the charge itself (e.g., a “mascle” is a voided lozenge); it creates a frame-like effect; in verse, voided charges suggest absence within presence, potential, or permeable boundaries; it is commonly applied to crosses, lozenges, and roundels for visual contrast.
Also Known As
Hollowed Open-centered
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