Definition of "cadency" [ca•den•cy]

• Cadence. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Heraldry — abatement, cadency, clarion, escutcheon, jessant-de-lys, rampant, talbot (I could go on for close to a thousand words as classical heraldry uses Norman French)"
• "What were the peculiar marks of cadency used by the heirs to the crown, apparent and presumptive, after the accession of the Stuarts?"
• "This eliminates the need for an elaborate system of cadency, though to prevent confusion, the spouse's and heir's arms are differenced."