flag

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) A piece of cloth, often decorated with an emblem, used as a visual signal or symbol.
2. (countable, uncountable) The design that could be placed on a flag, typically a rectangular graphic that is used to represent an entity (like a country, organisation or group of people) or an idea.
3. (countable, uncountable) A flag flown by a ship to show the presence on board of the admiral; the admiral himself, or his flagship.
4. (attributive, countable, often, uncountable) A signal flag.
5. (countable, uncountable) The use of a flag, especially to indicate the start of a race or other event.
6. (countable, uncountable) A variable or memory location that stores a Boolean true-or-false, yes-or-no value, typically either recording the fact that a certain event has occurred or requesting that a certain optional action take place.
7. (countable, uncountable) In a command line interface, a command parameter requesting optional behavior or otherwise modifying the action of the command being invoked.
8. (countable, uncountable) A mechanical indicator that pops up to draw the pilot's attention to a problem or malfunction.
9. (British, uncountable) The game of capture the flag.
10. (countable, uncountable) A sequence of faces of a given polytope, one of each dimension up to that of the polytope (formally, though in practice not always explicitly, including the null face and the polytope itself), such that each face in the sequence is part of the next-higher dimension face.
11. (countable, uncountable) A sequence of subspaces of a vector space, beginning with the null space and ending with the vector space itself, such that each member of the sequence (until the last) is a proper subspace of the next.
12. (countable, uncountable) A dark piece of material that can be mounted on a stand to block or shape the light.
13. (UK, archaic, countable, slang, uncountable) An apron.
14. (Internet, countable, uncountable) An indication that a certain outcome or event is going to happen, deduced not logically or causally, but as a pattern in a piece of media. Chiefly used in video games and adjacent media, especially visual novels, it is typically described as being raised or set by the plot or words of a character.

Verb

1. To furnish or deck out with flags.
2. To mark with a flag, especially to indicate the importance of something.
3. (often, with-down) To signal to, especially to stop a passing vehicle etc.
4. To convey (a message) by means of flag signals.
5. (often, with-up) To note, mark or point out for attention.
6. To signal (an event).
7. To set a program variable to true.
8. To decoy (game) by waving a flag, handkerchief, etc. to arouse the animal's curiosity.
9. To penalize for an infraction.
10. (intransitive) To lose on time, especially in a blitz game; when using a traditional analog chess clock, a flag would fall when time expired.
11. (transitive) To defeat (an opponent) on time, especially in a blitz game.
12. To point the muzzle of a firearm at a person or object one does not intend to fire on.
13. To fail, such as a class or an exam.
14. In female canids, to signal mating readiness by moving the tail aside to expose the vulva.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To weaken, become feeble.
2. To hang loose without stiffness; to bend down, as flexible bodies; to be loose, yielding, limp.
3. To let droop; to suffer to fall, or let fall, into feebleness.
4. To enervate; to exhaust the vigour or elasticity of.

Verb

To pave with flagstones.

Synonyms

banner

standard

ensign

pennant

droop

mark

colours

streamer

iris

flagstone

wither

colors

signal

fade

slacken

pennon

label

🏷️

ease off

weaken

badge

decline

slacken off

ease up

sign

sag

swag

masthead

fleur-de-lis

languish

pin

blanket

deteriorate

brand

wilt

wave

👋

blip

tag

sword lily

token

wane

attribute

signal flag

flagship

rare

sentinel

emblem

marker

gonfalon

designation

designate

Translations

drapeau

bandera

bandiera

vlag

Flagge

Fahne

bandeira

σημαία

bandera

pavillon

bayrak

vexillum

stendardo

Banner

Pronounced as (IPA)

/flæɡ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: flag

Cognate with German: Flagge

Cognate with Swedish: flagga

Cognate with Danish: flag

Cognate with Middle English: flacken

Cognate with Swedish: -

Cognate with Old Norse: flögra

Cognate with Old High German: flogarōn

Cognate with Old High German: flogezen

Cognate with Middle English: flakeren

Cognate with Old English: flacor

Cognate with Middle Dutch: flaggheren

Inherited from Middle English: flagge

Cognate with Danish: flæg

Cognate with Dutch: vlag

Cognate with Icelandic: flag

In summary

From Middle English flag, flagge (“flag”), further etymology uncertain. Perhaps from or related to early Middle English flage (name for a baby's garment) and Old English flagg, flacg (“cataplasm, poultice, plaster”). Or, perhaps ultimately imitative, or otherwise drawn from Proto-Germanic *flaką (“something flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat, broad, plain”), referring to the shape.
Germanic cognates include Saterland Frisian Flaage (“flag”), West Frisian flagge (“flag”), Dutch vlag (“flag”), German Flagge (“flag”), Swedish flagga (“flag”), Danish flag (“flag, ship's flag”). Compare also Middle English flacken (“to flutter, palpitate”), Swedish dialectal flage (“to flutter in the wind”), Old Norse flögra (“to flap about”). Akin to Old High German flogarōn (“to flutter”), Old High German flogezen (“to flutter, flicker”), Middle English flakeren (“to move quickly to and fro”), Old English flacor (“fluttering, flying”). More at flack, flacker.

Sentences

The flag of Nutopia has only one colour: white .