Also 7 toyson d’ore. [F., = fleece of gold; toison:—L. tonsiōn-em shearing (i.e., of a sheep), or:—L. aurum gold.]
a. The golden fleece: see GOLDEN a. 1; also fig. b. Her. The figure of this, giving name to an order of knighthood (see FLEECE sb. 1 c), and afterwards borne by certain families.
1623. Lisle, Ælfric on O. & N. Test., Ded. xxii. Yea Weathers furr’d with her owne Toyson d’Ore.
1704. J. Harris, Lex. Techn., I. Toison d’Or (French), the Term in Heraldry for a golden Fleece, which is sometimes born in a Coat of Arms.
1854. Thackeray, Newcomes, xxviii. She had done everything for Jason; she had got him the toison d’or from the Queen Mother.
