**Azure** is the heraldic tincture blue. The word derives, via Old French, from the Persian *lazhuward*, the lapis lazuli stone from which the pigment ultramarine was made. In monochrome engravings azure is indicated by horizontal hatching. Azure is associated with truth, loyalty and the sky, and is one of the most widely used tinctures in modern national flags.
**Example**: The deep blue field of the United Nations flag is rendered as azure in heraldic terms.
**See also**: [tincture](/glossary/tincture/), [gules](/glossary/gules/), [vert](/glossary/vert/), [color-heraldic](/glossary/color-heraldic/)