opinicus

plural opinici

1. governmentA heraldic imaginary creature with an eagle's head, a short tail, and sometimes wings.

   Two opinici vert, beaked sable, wings gules, support the insignia of the Plasterers’ Company.

   1847, A Glossary of Terms Used in British Heraldry: With a Chronological Table, Illustrative of Its Rise and Progress, Oxford: John Henry Parker, page 233

   3 more examples

   Urcheons, bagwyns, opinici and musimons, represented statant, sejant or segreant, and in every variety of metal, colour and fur, completed an exhibition which was both boastfully heraldic and pompously powerful.

   1928, Punch, page 612, column 2

   No blood need be shed in settling these anatomical problems, as opinici are of little importance, there being barely a dozen examples.

   1963, Julian Franklyn, Shield and Crest: An Account of the Art and Science of Heraldry, page 150

   Even when they ascend to the loftiest perch for their kind and earn the right to serve on the Council of Keythongs, the wingless ones are still not permitted the same rights as gryphons and opinici.

   2019, Paula Grover, The Gryphon, FriesenPress, →ISBN, page 22

   Synonyms: epimacus