semee-de-lis

The word semee is an old word that is best translated as “strewn” or “scattered with” and refers to the background of the shield, or large shapes upon, being sprinkled with a large number of the following objects. A Glossary of Terms used in British Heraldry, J.H. Parker, Oxford, 1894, Entry:Seme. Indeed semee-de-lis is itself another shorthand term for a field being scattered with fleur-de-lys. Most famously, a shield azure semee-de-lis or is indelibly linked to the nation of France. Boutell’s Heraldry, J.P. Brooke-Little, Warne, (revised Edition) London 1970, P 35