blue peter
blue peter noun: a blue signal flag with a white rectangle in the centre, signifying "P". When flown alone, indicates that a ship is ready to sail, requiring all crew members and passengers to return on board.
Noun (1)
blue peter (plural blue peters)
- A blue signal flag with a white rectangle in the centre, signifying "P". When flown alone, indicates that a ship is ready to sail, requiring all crew members and passengers to return on board.
- We lay out in the stream for another whole day, with the Blue Peter flying, to show that we were ready for sea, and to summon any passengers who might yet remain on shore.1851, W.H.G. Kingston, Peter the Whaler
- If we clung as devotedly as some philosophers pretend we do to the abstract idea of life, or were half as frightened as they make out we are, for the subversive accident that ends it all, the trumpets might sound by the hour and no one would follow them into battle - the blue-peter might fly at the...1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque
- In whist, a play that calls for trumps by throwing away a higher card of a suit while holding a lower one.
Verb
blue peter (third-person singular simple present blue peters, present participle blue petering, simple past and past participle blue petered)
- In whist, to play a blue peter.
Noun (2) capitalized: Blue Peter
Blue Peter (plural Blue Peters)
- American coot, mudhen (Fulica americana)
- American purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus)
Noun (3) capitalized: Blue Peter
Blue Peter (plural Blue Peters)
- Alternative letter-case form of blue peter.
Forms of blue peter
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | blue peters |
| alternative form | Blue Peter |
| plural | Blue Peters |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | blue peters |
| present participle | blue petering |
| past participle | blue petered |
| past | blue petered |
Origin of blue peter
The flag, serving as a signal of recall for departure, was used by the British Navy from 1777, and the name “blue peter” had become common by the end of the 18th century. An all-blue flag had earlier seen use for the same purpose by the Dutch East India Company. While “blue” obviously refers to the dominant colour of the flag, the origin of the second part of the term, “peter”, is unknown. Often said to be a corruption of “blue repeater”, there is actually no signal flag that goes by that designation. The use of the flag to spell the letter “P” dates from 1857 and so cannot have played a role in the origin of the term. The whist play, introduced by Lord Henry Bentinck, was named by him after the flag.
From blue + Peter, likely in reference to the color of the birds. Attested from the 18th century.
See blue peter.
Questions about blue peter
- What does blue peter mean?
- Blue peter means a blue signal flag with a white rectangle in the centre, signifying "P". When flown alone, indicates that a ship is ready to sail, requiring all crew members and passengers to return on board.
- What part of speech is blue peter?
- Blue peter can be a noun or a verb.
- What is the plural of blue peter?
- The plural of blue peter is blue peters.
Words near blue peter in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: blue peter (page history and authors); Blue Peter (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “blue peter.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/blue_peter. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.