COAT ARMOUR, or Surcoat. A loose garment worn over the armour of a knight; hence the term coat of arms. On this garment were emblazoned the armorial bearings of the wearer. [Illustration: Coat Armour] COCKATRICE. A chimerical animal, a cock with a dragon's tail and wings. [Illustration: Cockatrice] COLLARED. Having a collar. Dogs and inferior animals are sometimes collared: the supporters and charges are generally said to be gorged. See GORGED. COMBATANT. A French word for fighting. See LION. COMPLEMENT. The Heraldic term for the full moon. When this figure is introduced as a charge in a coat of arms, it is called a moon in her complement. COMPONY. A term applied to a bordure, pale, bend, or any other ordinary, made up of squares of alternate metal and colour. [Illustration: Compony] Ex. Argent, an inescutcheon azure, border compony, or and gules. CONJOINED. Joined together. [Illustration: Conjoined] Ex. Argent, three legs armed, conjoined at the fess point at the upper extremity of the thigh, flexed in a triangle, garnished and spurred, or. CONY. An heraldic name for a young rabbit. [Illustration: Cony] COTICE. One of the diminutives of the bend: cotices are generally borne on each side of the bend. [Illustration: Cotice] Ex. Gules, a bend argent, coticed of the same. The cotices are frequently of a different tincture from the bend they cotice. COUCHANT. The French word for lying down with the breast towards the earth, and the head raised. See LION COUCHANT. COUNT. A nobleman that was deputed by the king to govern a county or shire: the title is not used in the British Peerage; his rank is equal to an earl. COUNTER. In Heraldry implies contrariety, as in the following examples:-- COUNTER-CHANGED. The intermixture of metal with colours opposed to each other. [Illustration: Counter-changed] Ex. Per pale, or and azure, on a chevron, three mullets all counter-changed. COUNTER SALIENT. Two animals leaping different ways from each other. [Illustration: Counter salient] Ex. Argent, two foxes counter salient. COUNTER PASSANT. Two animals passing the contrary way to each other. [Illustration: Counter passant] Ex. Or, two lions passant counter passant gules, the uppermost facing the sinister side of the escutcheon, both collared sable, garnished argent. COUNTER FLORY. Any ordinary ornamented with fleurs-de-luce: the points of the flowers run alternately in a contrary direction. [Illustration: Counter flory] Ex. Or, a pale purpure, flory and counter flory gules. COUPED. From the French word _couper_, to cut. The cross in the example is couped, part of it being cut off, so as not to touch the edges of the shield. [Illustration: Couped] Ex. Azure, a cross couped argent. COUPED. The head or limbs of any animal cut close is called couped. [Illustration: Couped] Ex. Argent, a boar's head proper couped. COUPLE-CLOSE. One of the diminutives of the chevron, half the size of the chevronel. [Illustration: Couple-close]