Definition of "retracted"
adjective
(heraldry) Couped bendwise: cut off by a line diagonal to the main direction.
Quotations
Pale, retracted, that is, shortened. It is a French term, used when pales are borne cut off, either pendent from the chief, or issuant from the base, which should be particularly noticed in the blazon.
1828, William Berry, Encyclopaedia Heraldica: Or, Complete Dictionary of Heraldry, page 1