Charge- Any animal, object or symbol (that isn't an ordinary or sub-ordinary) on a device can be called a charge.
Coat of Arms- This term probably came from the fact that warriors wore surcoats with their device on them into battle. It is now used almost interchangably with the term "device". (In the SCA, someone with an Award of Arms can officially call their device a Coat of Arms.)
Color Rule- See "Tincture Convention"
Device- A device is a sheild or a badge with charges on it. (In the SCA, someone without an Award of Arms calls their coat of arms a device)
Diminutives- Variations on the ordinaries.
Emblazon- Refers to the way a device is actually painted.
Field- The field is the area upon which a device is emblazoned. This is usually a shield-shaped area, although it could be a banner, a surcoat, or a bage, for example. There are also examples of women who had inherited arms, emblazoning it on a lozenge (diamond) shaped field.
Ordinaries- A standard set of designs, most cover a significant portion of the field. The tincture convention (color rule) doesn't apply to ordinaries. Ordinaries are usually "behind" charges placed on the shield.
Sub-ordinaries- A standard set of designs which are usually placed on top of all other designs on the shield. The tincture convention (color rule) doesn't apply to sub-ordinaries.
Supporters- In modern heraldry, there are sometimes animals on either side of the shield; these are called supporters.
Tincture- Basically, tinctures are the colors used in heraldry. There's a bit more to it than that, but it's all explained on the tinctures page.
Tincture Convention- The tincture convention states that no charge in a color will be placed on a feild in a color, and no metal charge may be placed on a metal feild. Colored charges must be placed on metals and metal charges must be placed on a color. This helps to make devices more easily visible from a distance. Note that this only applies to charges, and not to divided fields (where colors can be placed next to eachother) or ordinaries and sub-ordinaries. Also called the color rule.
