Apex: The top corner of a pennant or burgee, opposite the hoist.
Badge: A coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol is sometimes called a badge.
Banner: A flag-like cloth draped, or stretched, between two anchor points.
Base or Field: The background or main color of the flag.
Bend: A diagonal band or stripe along a shield or field of a flag.
Bicolor: A flag that has two colors, usually of equal size.
Blazon: In heraldry, a formal description of a coat of arms, flag, or similar emblem, in which the elements and colors are described in a specific and traditional language.
Bordering: A different-colored edge around the outside of the flag, or part of a flag.
Brassey’s: A comprehensive guide to the flags and ensigns of the world.
Burgee: The flag of a boating club, usually in the shape of a tapered swallowtail.
Canton: The upper left (hoist) corner of a flag, separate from the base. On U.S. or British Commonwealth flags the ‘canton’ is also called the ‘union’.
Charge: An emblem, object, device, or design superimposed on the flag’s base.
Civil flag: The version of the country’s national flag, for use by private citizens.
Cockade: A knot of ribbons, or a rosette worn as a badge, often used on military caps. Sometimes these are used on flags or mirrored in flag designs.
Counterchanged: A term used in heraldry and vexillology indicating that a charge or field is divided into alternating colors.
Cravat: A decorative cloth tied to a flagstaff below the finial, often seen in military or ceremonial contexts.
Defacing: Changing a flag by adding something to it, especially concerning colonial flags. Note: that the term ‘defacing’ doesn’t mean ‘vandalizing’ when used in reference to flags.
Differencing: Referring to the design of one flag as a variation of another flag – either by changing a color, or adding or removing a charge, etc. For example, the flag of Italy was ‘differenced’ from that of France by changing the blue stripe to green.
Ensign: A flag used by ships at sea. Nations may have civil, state, and war ‘ensigns’.
Escutcheon: A shield or emblem bearing a coat of arms.
Field: A background or predominant color.
Fimbriation: A thin stripe placed around a field or charge, usually of a different color.
Finial: The ornament on the end of a flagstaff or flagpole.
Fly: The edge or end of a flag furthest away from the pole.
Gonfalon: A flag that hangs from a crosspiece or frame, often used in medieval times and seen in some ceremonial contexts today.
Grommet: A ring or edge strip inserted into a hole in the flag, used to protect it from tearing and to attach it to the halyard.
Guidon: A small flag or pennant carried as a standard by a military unit.
Halyard: A rope used to raise a flag.
Honor point: The place on a flag where the color, or charge, with the greatest, or highest, symbolism is placed – almost always the upper left hand side.
Hoist: The edge or end of a flag nearest the pole. Flags are usually hoisted on the left side, except in the case of some Arab flags.
House flag: A corporate or personal flag; a flag which does not signify nationality or citizenship.
Inescutcheon: A small shield displayed within a larger shield.
Jack: A small flag designating nationality, flown from the bow of a naval vessel while in port.
Jolly Roger: The traditional English name for the flags flown to identify a pirate ship about to attack.
Labarum: A Roman military standard adorned with a cloth bearing the first two Greek letters of Christ’s name.
Length: The length of a flag, measured straight from hoist to fly (or from left to right).
Mast or pole: A device used to fly a flag.
Oriflamme: An ancient French royal standard.
Pennant: (or pennon), any triangular or roughly triangular flag.
Pennon: A distinctive flag, typically tapering to a point or a swallowtail, used by knights in medieval Europe.
Proportion: (or ratio), the relationship of a flag’s width to its length, for example the Russian flag has a proportion of 1:2.
Quadrant: Any of the four sections created by dividing the field of a flag by a vertical and a horizontal line.
Rampant: Describes a heraldic animal standing on one leg with its forelegs in the air, as if leaping, often used on flags and shields.
Saint Andrew’s cross: A cross stretching from corner to corner of a flag, forming an ‘X’, also called a ‘saltire’.
Saint George’s Cross: A cross with arms vertical and horizontal, forming a ‘+’, stretching out to the edges of the flag.
Saltire: See definition for Saint Andrew’s Cross.
Scandinavian cross: A Saint George’s Cross placed off-centered, towards the hoist. Seen on Scandinavian and Nordic flags.
Sinister: The left-hand side of a shield or flag (from the perspective of the person carrying the shield).
Standard: A flag or emblem used as the identifying symbol of a leader or royal person.
State flag: The version of the national flag for use by a country’s government.
Streamer: A long, narrow flag.
Swallowtail: A flag that comes to two or three points at the fly end.
Triband: A flag with three stripes – arranged either horizontally or vertically.
Tricolor: A triband of three different colors. Many tribands are more properly termed tricolors. The flag of France is often called “Le Tricolore”.
Union Jack: The national flag of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the Union Jack, often used in the canton of other flags to show allegiance or association with the UK.
Vexilloid: A rigid sign carried on a pole, especially those used by ancient Roman legions as unit identifiers; the forerunners of modern flags.
Vexillogram: A picture or design specification for a flag.
Vexillographer: A person who designs flags.
Vexillology: The academic study of flags.
Vexillophile: A flag collector or flag enthusiast.
War Flag: A version of a country’s national flag for use by their armed forces.
Wearing: A synonym for ‘flying’, when applied to the ensign of a ship at sea.
Width: The height of a flag along the hoist.
