rainbow flags

Noun

rainbow flag (plural rainbow flags)

1. A rainbow-striped flag, typically consisting of six horizontal bars (from top to bottom: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet), used as a symbol of LGBT pride and LGBT social movements.
   • The rainbow flag flies especially proudly in 'Boystown,' along Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood (WeHo). Dozens of high-energy bars, cafés, restaurants, gyms and clubs flank this strip […]2009, California (page 546)

   Synonyms:

   pride flag

2. A rainbow-striped flag used as an international symbol of peace.
3. The flag of South Africa.
   • The extraordinary Josia Thugwane kept the best for last and made the rainbow flag fly over the closing ceremony of the Games. […] Today we honour all our athletes who ensured that the rainbow flag never touched the ground in Atlanta.1996, Nelson Mandela, “Address […] at the Parade of Champions from Atlanta Olympics”, in Speeches by Nelson Mandela
4. (archaic, historical) The flag of the First Republic of China, used between 1912 and 1928, consisting of red, yellow, blue, white, and black stripes.
   • Just as the rainbow in the blue skies, after a rainstorm, testifies to the existence of imperishable sunshine in the higher firmament, so this rainbow flag of China, born in the throes of the Chinese Revolution, is a standing proof of our abiding faith in democratic government […]1919, Arthur Richmond Marsh, The Economic World, page 548
5. A wiphala.
   • This new national identity is manifested by the rainbow flag known as the Wiphala in the Aymara language and is anchored in several zones, such as El Alto, and in the indigenous communities.2005, Eric Toussaint, Your Money Or Your Life: The Tyranny of Global Finance, Pluto Press (UK)