Feniz - Royal Navy Flag Book

Back

Glossary of Flag Terms

<tech: Adapted from FOTW; German terms (not authoritative) added>

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Badge: see Charge and Device
Banner: 1. A flag-like cloth draped or stretched between two anchor points, usually bearing a slogan. (Transparent); 2. A flag with heraldic arms placed on it overall (in other words, not in a small shield shape). Often called a heraldic banner. (Wappenflagge); 3. Poetically, any flag carried by a military force. (Banner)
Battle flag (Truppenfahne): is carried by armed forces on land.
Battle streamer (Fahnenband),: attached to the flag of a military unit, names battles or campaigns where the unit served with distinction.
Bend on: to attach signal flags to a halyard.
Bicolor: a flag of two colors, usually in equal fields. Bicolors are generally horizontal or vertical. The colors are listed top or hoist first.
Bordering: a mostly obsolete practice of edging a flag in a different color than the field, either for decorative purposes or to prevent fraying.
Burgee (Doppelstander): is a tapered flag or pennant, often used by a sailing club, that ends in a swallowtail of two points.
Canadian pale: a pale in the shape of a square <as used on the Canadian flag>.
Canton (Gösch; see Jack): is the upper corner of a flag next to the staff where a special design, such as a union, appears.
Charge: an emblem, object, device, or design superimposed on the field(s) of a flag. A coat of arms or simple heraldic device used as a charge is sometimes called a badge.
Civil Flag: the official (or unofficial) flag of the country used by the people, perhaps public flag would be clearer. As opposed to the state flag reserved for the government or the military. A civil ensign is a flag used at sea by private (or any non-government) ships.
Color: a general name for a flag when used in the military (Fahne). In the armed forces of many countries, regiments and larger units often carry two colors - the national flag and a unit flag.
Commission Pennant (Masthead Pennant).: a very long pennant flown from the main mast of a naval vessel, used to indicate commissioned status in the national service.; (Whereas a Kommandowimpel is flown by an officer commanding a vessel, thus related to the captain rather than to the ship.)
Cornet: - a small swallow-tailed flag (Doppelstander?); - alternative to Guidon as a term for the standard of a cavalry regiment (Standarte)
Courtesy flag (Höflichkeitsflagge): the national flag of the country a merchant ship or yacht visits, hoisted as the ship enters port.
Defacing: differencing a flag by adding something to it, such as a charge, a badge, or writing. Note that this term does not have the usual meaning of "vandalizing" when used with flags.
Device: an emblem or design, usually on the fly. See Charge
Differencing: the design of a flag as a variation of another flag, either by changing a color, adding or removing a charge, etc. Usually done to indicate a close cultural, historical, or geographic tie.
Dipping: a method of saluting using a hand-held flag. The flagstaff is brought down to an almost horizontal level, with the flag almost trailing the ground, then raised smartly back to its original position. See also Trailing
Ensign: - a national flag flown by naval (military) ships. Some countries also have ensigns for other armed services.; - a flag used at sea (by a ship) to show the nation of origin of the ship, and/or the company/organization that owns it (like a cruise line or shipping company); - the flag flown at the stern of a ship. See also Jack.
Ensign staff: the staff at the stern of a ship. (Heckflagg[en]stock)
Field (or Ground?): the background (predominant color) of a flag.
Finial: the ornament on the end of a flagstaff or flagpole.
Flag hoist: a group of signal flags attached to the same halyard and hoisted as a unit.
Fly: the free end of a flag, farthest from the staff. The term is also used for the horizontal length of the flag.
Guidon: 1. a small swallowtailed flag used by formations below the battalion level (company, battery, troop, platoon, detachment). It is a small flag carried at the front or right of a military unit to guide marchers.; 2. any small swallowtail.
Heraldic Banner: see Banner.
Hoist (see also Flag Hoist): is the part of the flag closest to the staff. The term is also used for the vertical width of a flag.
House flag: a corporate or personal flag; a flag which does not signify nationality or citizenship. Often flown by a merchant ship to identify the company that owns it.
Individual Flag: in military usage, a flag denoting an officer's rank.
Jack (Gösch; see Canton): - a small flag flown from the bow (jack staff) of a ship while in port, only used by navies to further denote the country of origin of the ship; - flown at sea on certain ceremonial occasions.; See also Ensign.
Jackstaff: is the staff at the bow of a ship.
Merchant flag (Civil Ensign) (Handelsflagge): is a flag flown by a merchant ship.
National flag (Nationalflagge, Landesflagge): is a flag of a country.
Paying-off pennant (Heimatwimpel): flown when ships leave their fleet to return to their home port to pay-off. Custom ordains that the length of the pennant should equal the length of the ship if she leaves her station at the end of a normal period of foreign service. If however a commission has been extended, the length of the pennant is increased in proportion to the extra length of service (e.g.a ship 480 feet in length that had it's 2 year commission extended to 2 years and 2 months would have a pennant 520 feet long). It is similar to, and flown in place of, the masthead pennant, and is displayed by a ship from a foreign station when entering or leaving harbors during her passage home, and by a ship of the Home Fleet on leaving for and arriving at her home port. A hydrogen balloon was sometimes attached to the end of the pennant to keep it flying.
Pennant (Stander - but Broad Pennant = Breitwimpel): a small triangular or tapering flag. It is not always easy to distinguish a pennant from a flag. W.Smith stated that "the common denominator distinguishing a pennant from a flag seems to be that the former is always secondary to the latter in importance and differs in shape, proportions, size, and/or manner of display". In naval terms certain pennants have a significance out of all proportion to their size. For example, for the Russian-American Company flag a ship flying the flag was a merchant ship but a ship flying the same flag and a pennant was a warship.
Pilot flag (Lotsensignal): flown from a ship that wants the aid of a pilot when entering port. Before the International Code of Signals was established many maritime countries adopted the practice of using their national (not merchant) flag with a white border as a signal meaning "I require a pilot".
Reeve: means to pull the halyard through the truck, raising or lowering a flag.
Signal Flags (Signalflaggen): A set of flags (Stell) used to signify letters and numbers, hoisted to communicate between ships at sea.
Staff: is a pole a flag hangs on.; (short, mostly oblique: Flagg[en]stock, high and vertical: Flaggenmast, vulgo Fahnenmast)
Standard (Stander, Standarte): - a flag around which people rally; - a flag around which soldiers rally in battle, especially one fixed in place;; - a flag based on a heraldic shield; - a flag representing a military unit; - (usually) the personal flag of a king, president or other high official; - obsolete term for the regimental flag used by cavalry regiments.
State flag (Dienstflagge): 1. the official flag of the country used by the government; perhaps government flag would be clearer. As opposed to the flag used by the people or the military (see civil, war and national flag, below). A state ensign is a flag used at sea by government ships. Many state flags are the same as national flags but with the country's coat of arms added.; 2. in some countries which have sub-national units called "states", the state flag may also refer to them.
Streamer (Wimpel): a long, narrow flag.
Swallowtail (Splitflagge?): flag which comes to two or three points at the fly end.
Trailing: an uncommon method of saluting using a flag on a pole. The flag is lowered until it just touches the ground for a few seconds, then raised smartly back up the pole. Practiced in some monarchies as a salute to a royal member. See also Dipping
Triband: see Tricolor.
Tricolor (Trikolore): a flag of three stripes, usually equal in size, arranged either horizontally or vertically. Those arranged vertically are sometimes called tribands. Some similarly-arranged two-color designs are also called tricolors.
Truck: is the wooden or metal block at the top of a flagpole below the finial (staff ornament). It includes a pulley or holes for halyard.
Union: is a design that symbolizes unity. It may appear in the canton, or it may be the entire flag.
War Flag (Kriegsflagge): the official flag of the country used by the military, perhaps military flag would be clearer. As opposed to the flag used by the people or the government. A war ensign is a flag used at sea by war ships.

Back