Azure (heraldry)

In heraldry, azure (/ˈæʒə/, /ˈæʒʊə/ or /ˈeɪʒə/) is the tincture with the colour blue, and belongs to the class of tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of horizontal lines or else is marked with either az. or b. as an abbreviation.

The term azure derives from the name of the deep blue stone now called lapis lazuli (stone of Lazhward). The word was adopted into Old French by the 12th century, after which the word passed into use in the blazon of coats of arms.

As an heraldic colour, the word azure simply means "blue". It is one of many concepts with both a French and Germanic word in English, the former being used by the French-speaking nobles following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 and the latter being used by the commoners of Anglo-Saxon stock. So while French-speaking heralds described banners as azure, commoners simply called them blue. Because it comes from a French word that simply means "blue", a wide range of colour values is used in the depiction of azure in armory and flags.

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Azure

Azure may refer to:

Colors

Azure (color), a hue of blue

Azure (heraldry), a blue tincture on flags or coats of arms

Media and computing

Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing platform created by Microsoft

Mozilla Azure, a graphics abstraction API

Azure (design magazine), a periodical on architecture and design

Azure (magazine), a periodical on Jewish thought and identity

Places

Azure, Alberta, locality in Alberta, Canada

Azure, Montana, census-designated place in Montana, USA

Other uses

Azure (building), a structure in Dallas, Texas, USA

"Azure" (song), a composition by Duke Ellington

Azure Window, a natural arch

Bentley Azure, a car

Lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone, and the root of the word "azure"

Azure (barley), malting barley variety, 6-rowed, with blue aleurone

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation /ˈmaɪkrəˌsɒft, -roʊ-, -ˌsɔːft/ (commonly referred to as Microsoft) is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington, that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office office suite, and Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox game consoles and the Microsoft Surface tablet lineup. It is the world's largest software maker by revenue, and one of the world's most valuable companies.

Microsoft was founded by Paul Allen and Bill Gates on April 4, 1975, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by Microsoft Windows. The company's 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, created three billionaires and an estimated 12,000 millionaires among Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Microsoft

Azure (album)

Azure is an album by American flugelhornist Art Farmer and Austrian pianist Fritz Pauer featuring performances recorded in 1987 and released on the Soul Note label.