A chevron (also spelled cheveron, especially in older documents) is a V-shaped mark or symbol, often inverted. The word is usually used in reference to a kind of

fret A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical instru ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

, or to a badge or insignia used in

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

s to indicate rank or length of service, or in

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

and the designs of

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

s (see

flag terminology Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display. Flag types ...

Ancient history

Appearing on

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

and petrographs throughout the ancient world, the chevron can be considered to be one of the oldest symbols in human history, with V-shaped markings occurring as early as the

Neolithic era The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

(6th to 5th millennia BC) as part of the Vinča symbols inventory. The

Vinča culture The Vinča culture (), also known as Turdaș culture or Turdaș–Vinča culture, is a Neolithic archaeological culture of Southeast Europe, dated to the period 5700–4500 BC or 5300–4700/4500 BC.. Named for its type site, Vinča-Belo Brdo, ...

responsible for the symbols appear to have used the chevron as part of a larger

proto-writing Proto-writing consists of visible marks communicating limited information. Such systems emerged from earlier traditions of symbol systems in the early Neolithic, as early as the 7th millennium BC in Eastern Europe and China. They used ideogra ...

system rather than any sort of heraldic or decorative use, and are not known to have passed the symbol on to any subsequent

cultures Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylo ...

.Mäder, Michael: ''Ist die Donauschrift Schrift?'' Budapest: Archaeolingua. , (2019), Many comparatively recent examples appear from approximately 1800 BC onward, beginning as part of an archaeological recovery of pottery designs from the palace of

Knossos Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city. Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

in the modern day country of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. Furthermore the

Nubia Nubia () ( Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sud ...

Kingdom of Kerma The Kerma culture or Kerma kingdom was an early civilization centered in Kerma, Sudan. It flourished from around 2500 BC to 1500 BC in ancient Nubia. The Kerma culture was based in the southern part of Nubia, or "Upper Nubia" (in parts of present ...

produced pottery with decorative repertoire confined to geometric designs such as Chevrons,.

Heraldry

A chevron is one of the ordinaries in

, one of the simple geometrical figures which are the chief images in many

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

. A chevron is constructed by choosing a visually appealing angle such as the

Golden Angle In geometry, the golden angle is the smaller of the two angles created by sectioning the circumference of a circle according to the golden ratio; that is, into two arcs such that the ratio of the length of the smaller arc to the length of the ...

or any other angle the artist prefers. It can be subject to a number of modifications including inversion. When the ends are cut off in a way that looks like the splintered ends of a broken piece of wood, with an irregular zig-zag pattern, it is called éclaté. When shown as a smaller size than standard, it is a diminutive called a chevronel. Chevrons appeared early in the history of heraldry, especially in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. In

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

the chevron is known as ''sparre''; an early example appears in the arms of Armand Desmondly. Image:Trans-coat of arms.svg,

Trans Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of". Used alone, trans may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trans (festival), a former festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom * ''Trans'' (fil ...

, Hinterrhein, Graubünden,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

File:Bioley-Magnoux-coat of arms.svg, ''Chevron wavy'':

Bioley-Magnoux Bioley-Magnoux () is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Bioley-Magnoux is first mentioned in 1228 as ''Biolai''. The village is located east of Yverdon and played some historic r ...

Yverdon district Yverdon District was a district of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland until 2006 when it was dissolved. It was divided into the Cercles of Molondin, Belmont-sur-Yverdon, Yverdon and Champvent. The district consisted of 38 municipalities, is 156. ...

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...

, Switzerland File:Newport COA shield.svg, ''Chevron inverted'':

Newport, Wales Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-larges ...

. Image:Bolligen-coat of arms.svg, ''Chevron and chevron inverted, interlaced'':

Bolligen Bolligen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district of the canton of Bern, Switzerland. In the historical center is a twelfth-century church, with a benefice barn and parsonage from the 16th century. History Bolligen is fir ...

, Bern district,

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...

, Switzerland File:Avry-coat of arms.svg, ''Chevronny'':

Avry Avry ( frp, Avri) is a municipality in the district of Sarine in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. The municipality is the result of the 1 January 2001 union of Avry-sur-Matran and Corjolens.Sarine district,

Canton of Fribourg The canton of Fribourg, also canton of Freiburg (french: Canton de Fribourg ; german: Kanton Freiburg ; frp, Canton de Fribôrg rm, Chantun Friburg it, Canton Friburgo) is located in western Switzerland. The canton is bilingual, with French s ...

, Switzerland

Rank insignia

In western European tradition, chevrons are used as an insignia of the ranks variously known, depending on the country, as NCO or sub-officer ranks. This usage has become the worldwide norm but there are many exceptions where other insignia, typically stripes but sometimes stars, are used for such ranks instead. Many countries, such as France and Italy, use chevrons proper, or colloquially, the chevrons "point up". Many others, such as most

Commonwealth countries The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 sovereign states. Most of them were British colonies or dependencies of those colonies. No one government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, as is the case in a p ...

, use inverted chevrons, or colloquially, the chevrons "point down." In the United States, the army and marines use chevrons proper, (though prior to the 20th Century this was not true), while the Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard use inverted chevrons. Arcs, known as "rockers" are also added to chevrons to indicate higher rank. English-speaking countries tend to use three chevrons for a sergeant and two for a corporal. Canadian and Australian Forces often refer to chevrons as "hooks". In the Dutch armed forces they are nicknamed "bananas". In the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, chevrons are worn point down to denote NCO rank, with one for

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

, two for corporal, three for sergeant, and three with a crown for

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, superv ...

(known as Colour Sergeant in infantry regiments and the Royal Marines) or Flight Sergeant (RAF). Branch and tradition results in variations in rank titles (Corporal of Horse being the equivalent of Sergeant in the

Household Cavalry The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment sta ...

) and spellings (Serjeant in

The Rifles The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles was formerl ...

). Large chevrons are also worn on the sleeves of

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

sailors to denote good conduct rather than rank. Although usually associated with Non-Commissioned Officers, the chevron was originally used as an insignia to denote

General Officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

ranks in the British Army. It was adopted from the insignia worn by cavalry during the 18th Century, in particular the

. It was worn on the cuffs, forearms and tails of their coats, embroidered in gold bullion for the guards and silver for Dragoons Regiments.

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

favoured the uniform of the Horse Guards, and his

Windsor Uniform The Windsor uniform is a type of formal dress worn at Windsor Castle by male members of the British royal family (and some very senior courtiers). History The uniform was introduced by King George III in 1777. The full dress version, which h ...

followed a similar pattern. After 1768, a similar pattern uniform as worn the King was introduced to General Officers, with the number and spacing of the chevrons denoting rank. For example, a Major General would wear his chevrons in pairs: two on the sleeves, and two on the tails. A Lieutenant General would wear them in groups of three, and a full General's would be equidistant. This practice continued into the early Victorian Era.

Examples

File:British Army OR-3.svg,

Lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

(

) File:Army-USA-OR-02 (Army greens).svg,

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

(

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

)

Vexillology

vexillology Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synthe ...

, a chevron is a triangle on the

hoist Hoist may refer to: * Hoist (device), a machine for lifting loads * Hoist controller, a machine for raising and lowering goods or personnel by means of a cable * Hydraulic hooklift hoist, another machine * Hoist (mining), another machine * Hoist ( ...

of a flag. The chevron is used in several national flags, such as the flag of Cuba, the

flag of the Czech Republic The flag of the Czech Republic ( cs, státní vlajka České republiky) or flag of Czechia ( cs, vlajka Česka), or Czech Flag ( cs, česká vlajka) is the same as the flag of the former Czechoslovakia. Upon the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in ...

, and the

flag of Jordan The flag of Jordan, officially adopted on 16 April 1928, is based on the 1916 flag of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The flag consists of horizontal black, white, and green bands that are connected by a red chevr ...

Other uses as insignia

In some armies, small chevrons are worn on the lower left sleeve to indicate length of service, akin to

service stripe A service stripe is an embroidered diagonal stripe worn on the sleeve(s) of some military and paramilitary uniforms. In the case of the United States military, service stripes are authorized for wear by enlisted personnel on the lower part of the ...

s in the U.S. military. The

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

use chevrons in various orientations as organizational designators on their vehicles, specifically which company within a battalion they belong to.

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

armed forces use the "Λ" chevron as insignia to represent the alliance between different armies, during peacekeeping missions. The US Led

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

that took part in

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

used a black "Λ" chevron in a similar manner as NATO forces use it on their ground vehicles. The design was created by a soldier in 3AD after the US Military sought markings to identify coalition vehicles due to increased fratricide incidents. It's symbolism according to the artist SGT Grzywa, was meant to be a V for Victory, a tribute to WWII Coalition Forces. "V" chevrons were historically used as the insignia of the imperialist Russian

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (russian: Добровольческая армия, translit=Dobrovolcheskaya armiya, abbreviated to russian: Добрармия, translit=Dobrarmiya) was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from ...

during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

, and in modern times as one of the military insignia by Russian forces during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

, and Russian civilians have used it in support of their government. French car maker

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired 8 ...

uses a double chevron as its logo. Chevrons on their side are also used as road signs to denote bends. From the early 1950s until the early 2000s, Simplex, Faraday and many other companies manufactured the chevron series fire alarm manual pull station. The handle was shaped in a way where the handle looked like an inverted chevron.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chevron (Insignia) Heraldic ordinaries Ornaments Military heraldry Architectural elements fr:Liste de pièces héraldiques#Chevron pt:Chevron (heráldica)