Chevron (insigne)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A chevron (also spelled cheveron, especially in older documents) is a V-shaped pattern.
The word is usually used in reference to a kind of fret in architecture, or to a badge or insignia used in military or police uniforms to indicate rank or length of service, or in heraldry and the designs of flags (see flag terminology). The origin seems to be the shape of the rafters of a building.
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[edit] Rank insignia
In British Military usage, the idea of using chevrons to denote rank came from whereabouts NCOs were placed in the line in infantry units. In Napoleonic times, units would form up in large, uniform blocks. Lance Corporals (and equivalents) would have marked the corner of a fire team, Corporals the corner of a squad, and Sergeants the corner of a Platoon. This led to the stylised drawing of different numbers of right angles on the sleeves, to denote corners. Over time these turned into the stylised chevrons worn today.
In areas observing Commonwealth of Nations or United States doctrine, chevrons are used as an insignia of enlisted or NCO rank by land military forces and by police. One chevron usually designates a private, two a corporal, and three a sergeant. One to four "rockers" may be also be incorporated to indicate various grades of sergeant. In American usage, chevrons typically point up, or on shoulderboards towards the neck; in Commonwealth usage (and in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force), they usually point down, or on shoulderboards away from the neck.
Small chevrons are part of the insignia to indicate length of time serving in some armies. They are worn on the lower left sleeve.
In the Commonwealth, the correct terminology for rank chevrons includes the number of stripes, called "bars", therefore, the image on the left is properly termed a "3-bar chevron". A 1-bar chevron indicates a Private in the Canadian Army or Lance Corporal in other Commonwealth armies, a 2-bar chevron indicates a Corporal, and a 3-bar chevron a Sergeant. Canadian Forces often refer to chevrons as "hooks."
[edit] Examples
 Single Chevron-Rank: Private E2, US Army. |
 Double Chevron-Rank: Corporal E4, US Army. |
[edit] Heraldry
In heraldry, when shown as a smaller size than standard, it is a diminutive called a chevronel.
[edit] Punctuation
As a part of punctuation, chevrons (also known as guillemets or angle quotes) usually act as quotation marks, particularly in Spanish and French. Examples would be ‹single quotes› and «double quotes». In German they are used as well, but in inverted form: ›single quotes‹ and »double quotes«. Chevrons are also used in Chinese punctuation, often to enclose the titles of books: ︿ and ﹀ or ︽ and ︾ for traditional vertical printing, and 〈 and 〉 or 《 and 》 for horizontal printing.
[edit] Road markings
They are also used as road markings in some stretches of British and Canadian motorways, to help drivers gauge the distance to the car in front, and also on signs on sharp corners in order to denote the tightness of the bend.
[edit] Other usages
[edit] Corporate logos
The French automobile firm Citroën uses a logo commonly referred to as a pair of chevrons, though it originates in the shape of the teeth of special type of gears which that firm made prior to its entering the car business.
The British television company Yorkshire Television used a Y-shaped symbol known as "the chevron" as its logo, from when its broadcasts began in July 1968 until the company was absorbed into the newly-formed ITV plc in February 2004.
The Chevron Corporation's logo is a pair of chevrons, one blue and one red.
In the Microsoft Windows operating system, the name "chevron" is used for a menu that contains the toolbar icons which do not fit in the space available on the toolbar.
In the Stargate science fiction universe, the outer ring of the Stargate device feature nine chevrons. In normal use, seven chevrons lock in to place as a destination Stargate is dialed.
Boeing calls some of its afterburner jets "variable-geometry chevrons".
[edit] Geology
Chevron is a term used to refer to a geologic feature found in coastal regions all over the world. According to an article in The New York Times, chevron is a "enormous wedge-shaped sediment deposit," possibly created by an enormous tsunami after an asteroid impact. The deposits are found as much as 18 miles inland.
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