cartouche

plural cartouches

1. architectureAn ornamental figure, often on an oval shield.
2. hieroglyphsEgyptologyAn oval figure containing the characters of an important personal name, such as that of royal or divine people.

   In 1762, Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, a French priest who was a scholar of Eastern languages, had made the inspired guess that the cartouches set off words of great importance, such as the names of gods or rulers.

   2013, Margalit Fox, The Riddle of the Labyrinth, Profile 2014, page 49

   1 more example

   Besides the uncial writing on the convex side of the sherd at the top, painted in dull red, on what had once been the lip of the amphora, was the cartouche already mentioned as being on the scarabaeus, which we had also found in the casket.

   1887, H. Rider Haggard, chapter 3, in She

3. cartographyA decorative emblem on a globe or map.
4. engineeringA paper cartridge.
5. engineeringA wooden case filled with balls, to be shot from a cannon.
6. engineeringA gunner's bag for ammunition.
7. governmentA military pass for a soldier on furlough.
8. cookingA parchment disc placed on top of food to limit evaporation, or to prevent a skin forming on soups and stews.