Etymology
The term "gules" derives from the Old French word goules, literally meaning "throats" (related to the English gullet; modern French gueules), but also used to refer to a fur neckpiece, usually made of red fur.
For many decades, heraldic authors have believed that the term may have arisen from the Persian word gol "rose" (coming to Europe via Muslim Spain or brought back by returning Crusaders), but according to Brault there is no evidence to support this derivation.
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Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)