COLOUR, in Heraldry. The colours generally used in heraldry are red, blue, black, green, and purple; technically called gules, azure, sable, vert or sinople, and purpure. Tenne or tawny, and sanguine, are less common. Yellow and white again, called or and argent, are metals, not colours. The metals and colours are sometimes expressed in blazonry by the names of precious stones, or by those of planets or stars. See HERALDRY.