E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Difference.
Ophe’lia says to the queen, “You may wear your rue with a difference.” In heraldry differences or marks of cadency indicate the various branches of a family.
1
(1) The eldest son, during the lifetime of his father, bears a label (or lambel), i.e. a piece of silk, stuff, or linen, with three pendants, broader at the bottom than at the top.
2
(2) The second son bears a crescent.
3
(3) The third, a mullet (or star with five points).
4
(4) The fourth, a martlet.
5
(5) The fifth, an annulet.
6
(6) The sixth, a fleur-de-lis.
7
(7) The seventh, a rose.
8
(8) The eighth, a cross-moline.
9
(9) The ninth, a double quatre foil.
10
Ophelia says both she and the Queen are to wear rue: the one as the affianced of Hamlet, eldest son of the late king; the other as the wife of Claudius his brother, and the cadet branch. The latter was to
have a “difference,” to signify it was a cadet branch. “I [says Ophelia] shall wear the rue, but you [the Queen] must now wear it with a ‘difference.’”
