A chief is a fess situated in the upper third of the shield.
The rare "chief couped" is a chief that falls short of reaching the dexter and sinister sides of the shield; the representation of Stonehenge in the arms of Sir Cecil Chubb, "the Baronet who owned Stonehenge and gifted it to the nation", show an example.
The diminutive of the bend sinister is the scarpe.
