A (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 Uniform s to indicate rank or length of service, or in
Heraldry and the designs of
Flag s (see
Flag Terminology ). The origin seems to be the shape of the rafters of a building. 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
Shoulderboard s 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 insigna to indicate length of time serving in some armies. They are worn on the lower left sleeve.
In heraldry, when shown as a smaller size than standard, it is a diminutive called a .
They are also used as
Road Marking s in some stretches of
British and
Canadian Motorway s, 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.
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 .
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 dialled.
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.
Boeing calls some of its afterburner jets "variable-geometry chevrons".
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». 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.
