Ensign

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛnsɪn/, IPA: /ˈɛns(É™)n/ IPA: /ˈɛnsaɪn/
• Rhymes: -É›nsÉ™n

Origin

From Old French enseigne < Latin Ä«nsignia, nominative plural of Ä«nsigne.

Full definition of ensign

Noun

1. A badge of office, rank, or power.
• WallerThe ensigns of our power about we bear.
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.
• ShakespeareHang up your ensigns, let your drums be still.
4. (nautical) 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.

Synonyms

• coronet cavalry equivalent of the infantry ensign
• second lieutenant (OF-1), first NATO commissioned officer grade above OF-0 trainee officer

Verb

1. (obsolete) To designate as by an ensign.
• w, Henry but joined the roses that ensigned Particular families.
2. To distinguish by a mark or ornament
3. (heraldry) 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.