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Trefoil (from Latin trifolium, "three-leaved plant", French trèfle, German Dreiblatt and Dreiblattbogen) is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism
Christian symbolism

Christian symbolism invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas. Christianity has borrowed from the common stock of significant symbols known to most periods and to all regions of the world....
.






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Trefoil Architectural
Trefoil (from Latin trifolium, "three-leaved plant", French trèfle, German Dreiblatt and Dreiblattbogen) is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism
Christian symbolism

Christian symbolism invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas. Christianity has borrowed from the common stock of significant symbols known to most periods and to all regions of the world....
. The term is also applied to other symbols of three-fold shape.

Architecture

Trefoil is a term in Gothic
Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late Middle Ages. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
 architecture
Architecture

The term architecture can refer to a process, a profession or documentation.As a process, architecture is the activity of designing and construction buildings and other physical structures by a person or a computer, primarily to provide shelter....
 given to the ornamental foliation or cusping introduced in the heads of window-lights, tracery, panellings, etc., in which the center takes the form of a three-lobed leaf
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 (formed from three partially-overlapping circles). One of the earliest examples is in the plate tracery at Winchester
Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral at Winchester, Hampshire in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic architecture cathedral in Europe....
 (1222 - 1235). The fourfold version of an architectural trefoil is a quatrefoil
Quatrefoil

File:Quatrefoil, St. Guthlac, Croyland Abbey.JPGThe word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts....
.

A trefoil combined with an equilateral triangle was also a moderately common symbol of the Christian Trinity
Trinity

In Christianity doctrine, the Trinity is the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in monotheism. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostasis , but one being....
 during the late Middle Ages in some parts of Europe. Two forms of this are shown below:

A dove, symbolic of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit

In Christianity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. The term Christ , is also used to refer to this presence. That is, the Spirit is considered to act in concert with and share an essential nature with God the Father and God the Son ....
, is sometimes depicted within the outlined form of the trefoil combined with a triangle.

Heraldry

The heraldic
Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning Coat of arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms....
 trefoil is a stylized clover.
It should not be confused with the figure named in French heraldry tiercefeuille, which is a stylized flower with three petals. It differs from the heraldic trefoil in being not slipped. It could be translated as threefoil.

Symbols

  • The symbol for recycling (see Recycling symbol
    Recycling symbol

    The universal recycling symbol is an internationally-recognized symbol used to designate recycling materials. It is composed of three chasing arrows that form a M?bius strip or unending loop....
    ).
  • The symbol indicating radioactivity.
  • One particular stylized form of the heraldic trefoil is used as the main element in the logo of most Girl Guide and Girl Scout organizations and is one of the more popular Girl Scout Cookies.
  • The logo of Adidas
    Adidas

    Adidas Aktiengesellschaft is a Germany sports apparel manufacturer and part of the Adidas Group, which consists of Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-adidas golf company, and Rockport ....
    .


Trademark

The green trefoil is registered under international trade-mark conventions as a symbol of Ireland. Shamrocks do not appear on Irish coins, bank-notes or postage stamps, as a rule.

Other meanings

  • A trefoil formation is a cross-sectional arrangement of electrical cables that minimises electrodynamic forces during fault
    Fault

    Fault may refer to:*Fault , planar rock fractures which show evidence of relative movement*Fault , an abnormal condition or defect at the component, equipment, or sub-system level which may lead to a failure...
     conditions.


See also

  • Quatrefoil
    Quatrefoil

    File:Quatrefoil, St. Guthlac, Croyland Abbey.JPGThe word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts....
  • Trefoil knot
    Trefoil knot

    In knot theory, the trefoil knot is the simplest nontrivial knot . It can be obtained by joining the loose ends of an overhand knot. It can be described as a -torus knot, and is the closure of the 2-stranded braid group s1?....


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