ensign English · revision 1502

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1375}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɛn.sɪn/, /ˈɛn.sən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|ensigne|t=sign, token, banner]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) first in Scottish use,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|enseigne|t=mark, symbol, signal; flag, standard]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[la|īnsignia]], plural of [[m|la|īnsigne|t=mark, badge of office]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) from [[m|la|īnsignis|t=distinguished]], from [[m|la|in-]] and [[m|la|signum|t=mark, sign]] (see [[sign]]).^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024)^(Skeat 1911) The Latin plural was taken in Vulgar Latin for a feminine singular noun.^(Klein 1966) It is a doublet of [[insignia]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A signal, rallying cry or watchword (1375 in the OED and Barnhart), chiefly Scottish and now obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By about 1400 the word meant a military or naval standard, a banner or flag,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) and in the 15th and 16th centuries also a sign or token (1474) and a badge of office or rank (1513).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) From the 1510s the soldier who carried the banner was called an ''ensign'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in the British infantry this became the lowest commissioned rank.^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023) In Tudor English the word was corrupted to ''ancient'', as in Shakespeare's Ancient Pistol.^(Weekley 1921) The sense of a ship's flag showing its nationality dates from the 18th century.^(Hoad 1986) The US Navy rank of ensign, the lowest commissioned officer, dates from 1862,^(Etymonline) after the French ''enseigne de vaisseau''.^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1375 – a signal, watchword (Scottish).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1400 – a banner or flag.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1474 – a sign, token.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1513 – a badge of office.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1510s – a standard-bearer.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1862 – a US Navy rank.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A national [[flag]] flown by ships and aircraft, often with the badge of a branch of the armed forces.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A standard or [[banner]], as of a military unit.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(historical)'' A standard-bearer; formerly, the lowest commissioned officer in the British infantry.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A commissioned officer of the lowest rank in the US Navy or Coast Guard, below a lieutenant junior grade.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A badge of office or power; an [[emblem]] or token.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[insignia]]

+ * [[sign]]

+ * [[signal]]

+ * [[standard]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}