ENSIGN

Ensign

Ensign late 14c., via Scottish, from Old French enseigne "mark, symbol, signal; flag, standard, pennant," from Latin insignia is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name. This rank has generally been replaced in army ranks by second lieutenant. Ensigns were generally the lowest ranking commissioned officer, except where the rank of subaltern itself existed.

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ensign

Noun

  1. A badge of office, rank, or power.
  2. The lowest grade of commissioned officer in the United States Navy, junior to a lieutenant junior grade.
  3. A flag or banner carried by military units. See standard, color, colour.
  4. The principal flag or banner flown by a ship to indicate nationality.
  5. A junior commissioned officer in the 18th and 19th Centuries whose duty was to carry the unit's ensign.
  6. A prominent flag or banner.
    Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanced. -Milton, Paradise Lost.

Verb

  1. To designate as by an ensign.
  2. To distinguish by a mark or ornament
  3. To distinguish by an ornament, especially by a crown.
    Any charge which has a crown immediately above or upon it, is said to be ensigned.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: ensign
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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