Glossary

A-C D-F G-J K-M N-P Q-S T-V W-Z

Ratio
The relationship of a flag's width to its length, e.g. France is 2:3; Germany is 3:5, Russia is 1:2.

Reeve
Means to pull the halyard through the truck, raising or lowering a flag.

Rope & Toggle
A method of hoisting a flag by means of a rope sewn into its heading, which has a wooden toggle at the top and a loop of rope at the bottom that fasten to their opposites at the ends of the halyard.

Saint Andrew's Cross
A cross from corner to corner of the flag, forming an "X". Also called a saltire. Properly, *the* Saint Andrew's Cross is a white cross on blue, and as such is the civil flag of Scotland.

Saint George's Cross
A cross with arms vertical and horizontal, forming a "+", out to the edges of the flag. Properly, *the* Saint George's Cross is a red cross on white, and as such is the flag of England.

Scandinavian Cross
A Saint George's Cross, off-centered towards the hoist, as seen in Scandinavian and Nordic flags.

Signal Flags
A set of flags used to signify letters and numbers, hoisted to communicate between ships at sea.

Sleeve
A heading which slips over the pole, although an ancient technique, is now usually limited to flags used for indoor display, especially the little desktop flags which come with their own poles.

Staff
A pole a flag hangs on.

Standard
A flag around which people rally. Today, term usually refers to the personal flag of a ruler, such as the Royal Standard of a British monarch.

1) - an identifying flag, equivalent to a color, carried by mounted or similar units.
French - étendard
Spanish - estandarte
German - Standart
Russian - shtandart
Portuguese - estandarte
Italian - stendardo
Danish - estandart
Dutch - standaard (Netherlands), vaandel (Belgium)

2) a flag based on a heraldic shield

3) a flag representing a military unit;

4) the personal flag of a king, president or other high official
in the U.S. military, an obsolete term for the regimental flag used by cavalry regiments.

State Flag
The flag flown by the government of a country. Many state flags are the same as national flags but with the country's coat of arms added.

The official flag of the country used by the government; perhaps government flag would be clearer. As opposed to the flag used by the people or the military (see civil, war and national flag, below). A state ensign is a flag used at sea by government ships. Where they differ from civil flags, state flags often carry a coat of arms.

In the U.S., Mexico, Australia, and some other countries which have sub-national units called "states", the state flag may also refer to them.

Storm Flag
in U.S. Army, flies over an Army base in stormy weather. It is 5 feet (1.5 m) wide by 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 m) long, half as wide and half as long as a post flag.

Streamer
A long, narrow flag.

Swallowtail
A flag which comes to two or three points at the fly end.

A-C D-F G-J K-M N-P Q-S T-V W-Z