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flag - 27 dictionary results

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flag

1 [flag]

noun, verb, flagged, flag⋅ging.

Use flag in a Sentence

–noun

1.	a piece of cloth, varying in size, shape, color, and design, usually attached at one edge to a staff or cord, and used as the symbol of a nation, state, or organization, as a means of signaling, etc.; ensign; standard; banner; pennant.

2.	Ornithology. the tuft of long feathers on the legs of falcons and most hawks; the lengthened feathers on the crus or tibia.

3.	Hunting. the tail of a deer or of a setter dog.

Journalism.

a.	the nameplate of a newspaper.

b.	masthead (def. 1).

c.	the name of a newspaper as printed on the editorial page.

5.	a tab or tag attached to a page, file card, etc., to mark it for attention.

6.	Music. hook (def. 12a).

7.	Movies, Television. a small gobo.

8.	Usually, flags. the ends of the bristles of a brush, esp. a paintbrush, when split.

9.	Computers. a symbol, value, or other means of identifying data of interest, or of informing later parts of a program what conditions earlier parts have encountered.

–verb (used with object)

10.	to place a flag or flags over or on; decorate with flags.

11.	to signal or warn (a person, automobile, etc.) with or as if with a flag (sometimes fol. by down): to flag a taxi; to flag down a passing car.

12.	to communicate (information) by or as if by a flag.

13.	to decoy, as game, by waving a flag or the like to excite attention or curiosity.

14.	to mark (a page in a book, file card, etc.) for attention, as by attaching protruding tabs.

15.	(of a brush) to split the ends of the bristles.

—Idiom

16.

strike the flag,

a.	to relinquish command, as of a ship.

b.	to submit or surrender: His financial situation is growing worse, but he's not ready to strike the flag.

Also, strike one's flag.

Origin:
1475–85; perh. b. flap (n.) and fag ¹ (n.) in obs. sense “flap”

Related forms:

flagger, noun

flagless, adjective

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flag

2 [flag]

–noun

1.	any of various plants with long, sword-shaped leaves, as the sweet flag.

2.	blue flag.

3.	the long, slender leaf of such a plant or of a cereal.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME flagge

flag

3 [flag]

–verb (used without object), flagged, flag⋅ging.

1.	to fall off in vigor, energy, activity, interest, etc.: Public enthusiasm flagged when the team kept losing.

2.	to hang loosely or limply; droop.

Origin:
1535–45; perh. b. of flap (v.) and fag ¹ (v.) in obs. sense “to droop”. See flag ¹

Synonyms:
1. dwindle, wilt, slump, sag, wane.

flag

4 [flag]

noun, verb, flagged, flag⋅ging.

–noun

1.	flagstone (def. 1).

2.	flags, flagstone (def. 2).

–verb (used with object)

3.	to pave with flagstones.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME flagge piece of sod; akin to ON flaga slab

Related forms:

flagger, noun

flag⋅stone

[flag-stohn]

–noun

1.	Also called flag. a flat stone slab used esp. for paving.

2.	flagstones, a walk, terrace, etc., paved with flagstones.

3.	rock, as sandstone or shale, suitable for splitting into flagstones.

Origin:
1720–30; flag ⁴ + stone

mast⋅head

[mast-hed, mahst-]

–noun

1.	Also called flag. a statement printed in all issues of a newspaper, magazine, or the like, usually on the editorial page, giving the publication's name, the names of the owner and staff, etc.

2.	Also called nameplate. a line of type on the front page of a newspaper or the cover of a periodical giving the name of the publication.

Nautical.

a.	the head of a mast.

b.	the uppermost point of a mast.

–verb (used with object) Nautical.

4.	to hoist a yard to the fullest extent.

5.	to hoist to the truck of a mast, as a flag.

6.	to send to the upper end of a mast as a punishment.

–adjective

7.	Nautical. run up to the head of a mast: masthead rig.

Origin:
1740–50; mast ¹ + head

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To flag

flag¹ (flāg)

A piece of cloth, usually rectangular, of distinctive color and design, used as a symbol, standard, signal, or emblem.
National or other allegiance, as symbolized by a flag: ships of the same flag.
A ship carrying the flag of an admiral; a flagship.
A marking device, such as a gummed strip of paper, attached to an object to attract attention or ease identification; a tab.
The masthead of a newspaper.
Music A cross stroke that halves the value of a note to which it is added.
A distinctively shaped or marked tail, as of a dog or deer.
Computer Science A variable or memory location that stores true-or-false, yes-or-no information.

tr.v. flagged, flag·ging, flags

To mark with a flag or flags for identification or ornamentation: flag a parade route; flagging parts of a manuscript for later review.
1. To signal with or as if with a flag.
2. To signal to stop: flag down a passing car.

[Origin unknown.]
flag'ger n.

flag² (flāg)

n. A plant, such as an iris or cattail, that has long sword-shaped leaves.

[Middle English flagge, reed, of Scandinavian origin.]

flag³ (flāg)

intr.v. flagged, flag·ging, flags

To hang limply; droop.
To decline in vigor or strength: The conversation flagged.

[Possibly of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse flögra, to flap about.]

flag⁴ (flāg)

n. A flagstone.
tr.v. flagged, flag·ging, flags
To pave with slabs of flagstone.

[Middle English flagge, piece of turf, from Old Norse flaga, slab of stone; see plāk-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Flag

Flag\ (fl[a^]g), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flagged; p. pr. & vb. n. Flagging.] [Cf. Icel. flaka to droop, hang loosely. Cf. Flacker, Flag an ensign.]

1. To hang loose without stiffness; to bend down, as flexible bodies; to be loose, yielding, limp.

As loose it [the sail] flagged around the mast. --T. Moore.

2. To droop; to grow spiritless; to lose vigor; to languish; as, the spirits flag; the streugth flags.

The pleasures of the town begin to flag. --Swift.

Syn: To droop; decline; fail; languish; pine.

Flag

Flag\ (fl[a^]g), v. t. 1. To let droop; to suffer to fall, or let fall, into feebleness; as, to flag the wings. --prior.

2. To enervate; to exhaust the vigor or elasticity of.

Nothing so flags the spirits. --Echard.

Flag

Flag\, n. [Cf. LG. & G. flagge, Sw. flagg, Dan. flag, D. vlag. See Flag to hang loose.]

1. That which flags or hangs down loosely.

2. A cloth usually bearing a device or devices and used to indicate nationality, party, etc., or to give or ask information; -- commonly attached to a staff to be waved by the wind; a standard; a banner; an ensign; the colors; as, the national flag; a military or a naval flag.

3. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A group of feathers on the lower part of the legs of certain hawks, owls, etc. (b) A group of elongated wing feathers in certain hawks. (c) The bushy tail of a dog, as of a setter.

Black flag. See under Black.

Flag captain, Flag leutenant, etc., special officers attached to the flagship, as aids to the flag officer.

Flag officer, the commander of a fleet or squadron; an admiral, or commodore.

Flag of truse, a white flag carried or displayed to an enemy, as an invitation to conference, or for the purpose of making some communication not hostile.

Flag share, the flag officer's share of prize money.

Flag station (Railroad), a station at which trains do not stop unless signaled to do so, by a flag hung out or waved.

National flag, a flag of a particular country, on which some national emblem or device, is emblazoned.

Red flag, a flag of a red color, displayed as a signal of danger or token of defiance; the emblem of anarchists.

To dip, the flag, to mlower it and quickly restore it to its place; -- done as a mark of respect.

To hang out the white flag, to ask truce or quarter, or, in some cases, to manifest a friendly design by exhibiting a white flag.

To hang the flag half-mast high or half-staff, to raise it only half way to the mast or staff, as a token or sign of mourning.

To strike, or lower, the flag, to haul it down, in token of respect, submission, or, in an engagement, of surrender.

Yellow flag, the quarantine flag of all nations; also carried at a vessel's fore, to denote that an infectious disease is on board.

Flag

Flag\, v. t. [From Flag an ensign.]

1. To signal to with a flag; as, to flag a train.

2. To convey, as a message, by means of flag signals; as, to flag an order to troops or vessels at a distance.

Flag

Flag\, n. [From Flag to hang loose, to bend down.] (Bot.) An aquatic plant, with long, ensiform leaves, belonging to either of the genera Iris and Acorus.

Cooper's flag, the cat-tail (Typha latifolia), the long leaves of which are placed between the staves of barrels to make the latter water-tight.

Corn flag. See under 2d Corn.

Flag broom, a coarse of broom, originally made of flags or rushes.

Flag root, the root of the sweet flag.

Sweet flag. See Calamus, n., 2.

Flag

Flag\, v. t. To furnish or deck out with flags.

Flag

Flag\, n. [Icel. flaga, cf. Icel. flag spot where a turf has been cut out, and E. flake layer, scale. Cf. Floe.]

1. A flat stone used for paving. --Woodward.

2. (Geol.) Any hard, evenly stratified sandstone, which splits into layers suitable for flagstones.

Flag

Flag\, v. t. To lay with flags of flat stones.

The sides and floor are all flagged with . . . marble. --Sandys.

Flag

Flag\, n. (Zo["o]l.) One of the wing feathers next the body of a bird; -- called also flag feather.

Flag

Flag\, v. t. To decoy (game) by waving a flag, handkerchief, or the like to arouse the animal's curiosity.

The antelope are getting continually shyer and more difficult to flag. --T. Roosevelt.

Language Translation for : flag

Spanish: bandera,

German: die Fahne,

Japanese: 旗

More Translations »

flag

n. [very common] A variable or quantity that can take on one of two values; a bit, particularly one that is used to indicate one of two outcomes or is used to control which of two things is to be done. "This flag controls whether to clear the screen before printing the message." "The program status word contains several flag bits." Used of humans analogously to bit. See also hidden flag, mode bit.

Jargon File 4.2.0
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flag (n.)

"cloth ensign," c.1480, now in all modern Gmc. languages, but apparently first recorded in Eng., origin unknown, but likely connected with flag (v.) or else, like it, onomatopoeic. A less likely guess is that it is from the flag in flagstone (q.v.) on notion of being square and flat. Flagship is 1672, ship bearing an admiral's flag. U.S. Flag Day (1894) is in reference to the adopting of the Stars and Stripes by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.

flag (v.)

1545, "flap about loosely," perhaps a variant of M.E. flakken, flacken "to flap, flutter," probably from O.N. flakka "to flicker, flutter," perhaps onomatopoeic of something flapping in the wind. Sense of "go limp, droop" is first recorded 1611. Meaning "to designate as someone who will not be served more liquor" is from 1980s, probably from use of flags to signal trains, etc., to halt, which led to the verb in this sense (1856).

Flag

A technical charting pattern that looks like a flag with a mast on either side. Flags result from price fluctuations within a narrow range and mark a consolidation before the previous move resumes. Likewise, "pennant" formations are usually treated like flag formations because they are very similar in appearance, tend to show up at the same place in an existing trend, and have the same volume and measuring criteria.

Investopedia Commentary

Flags and pennants are among the most reliable of continuation patterns and only rarely produce a trend reversal. The only difference between the two patterns is that a flag resembles a parallelogram (or rectangle) marked by two parallel trend lines that tend to slope against the prevailing trend. The pennant, however, is identified by two converging trend lines and more horizontal which resembles a small symmetrical triangle. The important thing to remember is that they are both characterized by diminishing trade volume and though different, the measuring implications are the same for both patterns as demonstrated in the above illustration.

flag

See triangle.

flag
1. A variable or quantity that can take on one of two values; a bit, particularly one that is used to indicate one of two outcomes or is used to control which of two things is to be done. "This flag controls whether to clear the screen before printing the message." "The program status word contains several flag bits." See also hidden flag, mode bit.
2. command line option.
[The Jargon File]
(1998-05-02)

Flag

(Heb., or rather Egyptian, ahu, Job 8:11), rendered "meadow" in Gen. 41:2, 18; probably the Cyperus esculentus, a species of rush eaten by cattle, the Nile reed. It also grows in Palestine. In Ex. 2:3, 5, Isa. 19:6, it is the rendering of the Hebrew _suph_, a word which occurs frequently in connection with _yam_; as _yam suph_, to denote the "Red Sea" (q.v.) or the sea of weeds (as this word is rendered, Jonah 2:5). It denotes some kind of sedge or reed which grows in marshy places. (See PAPER ØT0002840, REED.)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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