crest sb. (fig. uses of 1 and 4 coincide; the allusion in John V. iv. 34 is doubtful; LLL. IV. iii. 256 “beauty's crest” =brightness)
1.
comb, tuft of feathers, or the like on an animal's
head, only fig.
1H4 I. i. 99
“bristle up The of
youth,”
Troil. I. iii. 380
“make him fall His ,”
Cor. IV. v. 226.
2.
device placed on a
wreath, coronet, &c., and borne above the
shield and helmet in a coat of arms, often fig.
Wiv. V. v. 69
“Each . . . coat, and
several ,”
MND. III. ii. 214
“like coats in heraldry
. . . crowned with one ,”
AYL. IV. ii. 64, Shr. II. i. 224, John IV. iii. 46,
2H6 V. i. 202
“old Nevil's , The
rampant bear.”
3.
helmet (orig. plume
of feathers, &c., on a helmet, or the conical
top of it) John II. i. 317, Mac. V. vii. 40 [viii. 11], Ven. 104.
4.
ridge of the neck of
a horse or dog Cæs. IV.
ii. 26,
Ven. 272
“his braided hanging
mane Upon his compass'd crest.”
