ensign

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“
Edward Carson from Canada writes: Dieter, I assume you know (although failed to mention) that the ensign was approved by government to be flown outside Canadian buildings internationally from 1924 and inside Canada from 1945?

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Definitions (23)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (7)

  1. noun A national flag displayed on ships and aircraft, often with the special insignia of a branch or unit of the armed forces.
  2. noun A standard or banner, as of a military unit.
  3. noun Archaic A standard-bearer.
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Examples (50)

  • The cross of shame has become our ensign, and the place of defeat has become the standard of victory and eternal life. —  Reformation Theology
  • Consequently, the ensign was consigned to the backseat. —  Fiji Times Online - Local News
  • They're soo full of it! ensign is an a hole. these morons on the right will never learn. so because you are anti american that means you sould not laugh. these obstructionist on the right needs to go in iraq and never come back. —  CNN Political Ticker
  • Edward Carson from Canada writes: Dieter, I assume you know (although failed to mention) that the ensign was approved by government to be flown outside Canadian buildings internationally from 1924 and inside Canada from 1945? —  The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed
  • 162. The Banner has been described as the ensign of the Sovereign, or of a Prince, a Noble, or a Knight who had been advanced to the higher rank or degree of a “Banneret”; but it would seem almost certain that the display of Arms upon a Banner was never confined to a Banneret. —  The Handbook to English Heraldry
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

lieutenant ·  colonel ·  crewman ·  flag ·  pennant ·  corporal ·  admiral ·  trooper ·  commandant ·  aide ·  insignia ·  pennon
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English ensigne, from Old French enseigne, from Latin īnsignia, insignia; see insignia.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly ensigne (and corruptly auncient, ancient, in the sense of standard-bearer: see ancient), from Old French ensigne, enseigne, French enseign = Provencal enseigna, enseyna, essenha = Old Spanish enseña = Spanish Portuguese insignia = Italian insegna, from Middle Latin insigna, Latin insigne, a standard, badge, mark (plural insignia), neuter of insignis, distinguished by a mark, remarkable: see insignia. Cf. ensign, v.
  2. from Middle English ensignen, ensygnen, from Old French ensigner, enseigner, mark, point out, tell, inform, indicate, French enseigner, tell, inform, teach, instruct, = Provencal enseignar, ensegnar, esseignar = Spanish enseñar = Portuguese ensinhar = Italian insegnare, from Middle Latin insignare, mark, indicate; cf. Latin insignire, put a mark upon, distinguish, insignis, distinguished by a mark, from in, on, + signum, sign: see sign, and cf. ensign, n., on which the English verb in part depends.
 

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/ɛnˈsaɪn/
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