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Flag terminology
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The design and description of flags typically uses specialised flag terminology with precise and technical meanings, and is hence a form of jargon.
Contents
- 1 Description of standard flag parts and terms
- 2 Basic patterns in flags
- 3 Techniques in flag display
- 4 Vexillogical symbols
- 4.1 National flag variants by use
- 4.2 Other symbols
- 5 See also
- 6 External links
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Description of standard flag parts and terms
Image:Flagterm.png
- Badge – a coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, such as a shield.
- Canton – any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper left (hoist) quarter, such as the field of stars in the flag of the United States or the Union Flag in the Australian Flag.
- Charge – a figure or symbol appearing in the field of a flag.
- Emblem – a device often used as a charge on a flag. It may be heraldic in origin or modern, for example the maple leaf on the Canadian Flag.
- Field – the background of a flag; the colour behind the charges.
- Fimbriation – a narrow edging or border, often in white or gold, on a flag to separate two other colours.
- Fly – the half or edge of a flag furthest away from the flagpole. This term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag.
- Hoist – the half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole. This term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag.
- Length – the span of a flag along the side at right angles to the flagpole.
- Width – the span of a flag down the side parallel to the flagpole.
Basic patterns in flags
Image:Flag types gallery.svg
- See also: Gallery of flags by design
Techniques in flag display
- Hoist – the act or function of raising a flag, as on a rope.
- Lower – the act or function of taking down a flag, as on a rope.
- Half Staff or Half Mast – a style of flag display in which the flag is hoisted to half of the potential height of the available flag pole. Usually this is done by first raising the flag to the top, then lowering it halfway. (Equally valid 'half-masting' is flying the flag at two-thirds of its normal height.) This usually denotes distress or a show of grief, such as mourning a death. The use of 'mast' suggests naval use but typically the two terms are interchangeable.
- Distress – flying the flag upside-down.
Illustrations
Flag illustrations generally depict flags flying from the observer's point of view from left to right, the view known as the obverse (or "front"); the other side is the reverse (or "back"). There are some exceptions, notably some Islamic flags inscribed in Arabic, for which the obverse is defined as the side with the hoist to the observer's right.
Vexillogical symbols
A vexillological symbol is used by vexillologists to indicate certain characteristics of national flags, such as where they are used, who uses them, and what they look like. The set of symbols described in this article are known as international flag identification symbols, which were devised by Whitney Smith.
National flag variants by use
Some countries use a single flag design to serve as the national flag in all contexts of use; others use multiple flags that serve as the national flag, depending on context (who is flying the national flag and and where). The six basic contexts of use (and potential variants of a national flag) are:
In practice, a single design may be associated with multiple such usages; for example, a single design may serve a dual role as
war flag and ensign (
Image:FIAV 001001.svg). Even with such combinations, this framework is not complete: some countries define designs for usage contexts not expressible in this scheme (such as air force ensigns, distinct from war flags or war ensigns, flown as the national flag at air bases; for example, see
Royal Air Force Ensign).
Other symbols
Other symbols are used to describe how a flag looks, such as whether it has a different design on each side, or if it is hung vertically, etc. These are the symbols in general use:
See also
