ensign

1 a person who holds a commissioned rank in the United States Navy or the United States Coast Guard; below lieutenant junior grade

2 an emblem flown as a symbol of nationality [syn: national flag]

3 colors flown by a ship to show its nationality

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛnsən

Noun

1. The lowest grade of commissioned officer in the United States Navy, junior to a lieutenant junior grade.
2. A flag or banner carried by military units. See standard, color, colour.
3. The principal flag or banner flown by a ship to indicate nationality.
4. A junior commissioned officer in the 18th and 19th Centuries whose duty was to carry the unit's ensign.
5. A prominent flag or banner.

   Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanced. -Milton, Paradise Lost.

Translations

An ensign is a distinguishing flag of a ship or a military unit; or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office. The word has also given rise to the military rank of "ensign", a rank of junior officer once responsible for bearing the ensign of his unit.

The word is derived from the French enseigne from the Latin plural insignia and is more particularly used for a military or naval standard or banner. An armorial ensign applies specifically to heraldic symbols of an army.

Maritime ensigns

In nautical use, an ensign in the form of a flag is usually flown at the stern of a ship or boat to indicate its nationality. Ensigns may also be flown from the gaff of a ship, and may be shifted to a yardarm when the ship is underway, where it is known as a steaming ensign. Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag when used as an ensign:

• A civil ensign (usage symbol *British ensigns: Blue Ensign, Red Ensign, White Ensign, commons:Flags based on British ensigns
• Civil ensign
• Civil air ensign
• Green Ensign
• Insignia
• Maritime flags and Gallery of maritime flags
• Pearson Ensign or Ensign Spar New Ensign Classic, a One-Design racing keelboat

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