In heraldry and vexillology, fimbriation refers to small strips of colour (technically called "tincture" in this sense in heraldry) placed around common charges or ordinaries, usually in order for them to stand out from the background, but perhaps just because the designer felt it looked better, or for a more technical reson (in heraldry only) to avoid what would otherwise be a violation of the rule of tincture. While almost invariably fimbriation applies to both or all sides of a charge, there are very unusual examples of fimbriation on one side only.[1] Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ... Flag of the Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques. ... For a list of words with definitions, see the Heraldic tincture category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to blazon a coat of arms. ... In heraldry, a charge is an image occupying the field on an escutcheon (or shield). ... In heraldry, an ordinary is a simple geometrical figure on the arms, wider than a line or division of the field. ... Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ... The first rule of heraldry is the rule of tincture: metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour (Humphrey Llwyd, 1568). ...

According to the rule of tincture, one of the fundamental rules of heraldric design, colour may not be placed on colour nor metal on metal (in heraldry, "metal" refers to gold and silver and yellow and white, which are often used to represent gold and silver. "Colour" refers to all other colours). Sometimes, however, it is desired to do something like this, so fimbriation is used as a method of getting around the rule.

In the arms of Mozirje, in Slovenia, is an example of fimbriation that itself is fimbriated.[2] Area: 83,6 km² Population  - males  - females 6. ...

Flag of South Africa, showing yellow and white fimbriation

In vexillology that is not specifically heraldic, the rules of heraldry do not apply, yet fimbriation is still frequently seen. The reason for this is largely one of visibility - the separating of darker colours by white or yellow is an aid to the visual separation of the darker colours. A good example of a flag which uses fimbriation is the national flag of South Africa which is fimbriated in white above and below the central green area, and in yellow between it and the triangle at the hoist. Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa. ... Flag ratio: 2:3 The current design of the National Flag of the Republic of South Africa was adopted on 27 April 1994, the end of apartheid prompting the widespread conviction that a new national flag must include the cultures of all South Africans. ...

Some fifteen to twenty countries use fimbriation on their national flags. National flags that use fimbriation include those of Trinidad and Tobago, North Korea, Botswana, Kenya and - most famously - the British "Union Jack". The flag of Uzbekistan uses a very unusual form of "pseudo-fimbriation" - it adds a thin red band between a colour and a metal, separating blue (above) and green (below) from a central white stripe. Flag Ratio: 1:2 Union Jack is the commonly used name for the Union Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ... Flag ratio: 1:2 The flag of Uzbekistan was adopted on November 18, 1991. ... A stripe may be one of a pattern of areas created by a family of parallel lines, as on the flag of the United States, also known as the stars and stripes in a candy-stripe pattern, on a diagonal and twisted round a cylinder, as for a candy cane...

Fimbriation in medicine and physiology is to be distinguished.[3]