ensigns

Noun

ensign (plural ensigns)

1. A badge of office, rank, or power.
   • The Ensigns of our Power about we bear; / And every Land pays Tribute to the Fair.1690, Edmund Waller, The Maid’s Tragedy, Alter’d by Mr Waller, page 8
2. The lowest grade of commissioned officer in the United States Navy, junior to a lieutenant junior grade.
   • The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter X, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC
3. A flag or banner carried by military units; a standard or color/colour.
   • Hang up your ensigns, let your drums be still,1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...

   Synonyms:

   ancient

4. The principal flag or banner flown by a ship (usually at the stern) to indicate nationality.
   • But Alcibiades swiftly ran up the Athenian ensign on his flagship and bore down on that part of the Peloponnesian fleet which held the advantage and was pursuing the Athenians.1960 [a. 120], Ian Scott-Kilvert, “Life of Alcibiades”, in The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives, translation of original by Plutarch
5. Any prominent flag or banner.
   • Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanced.1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker...
6. (historical) A junior commissioned officer in the 18th and 19th centuries whose duty was to carry the unit's ensign.

See all 14 meanings of ensign