banner English · revision 7707

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1200|origins=gem-pro *bandwą}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbænə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈbænɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English banere, [[bor|fro|baniere|t=flag, banner, standard]], banere,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from Late Latin [[m|la-lat|bandum|t=standard]],^(Etymonline) from a Germanic source, Proto-Germanic *bandwa-, identifying sign, banner, also the source of Gothic bandwa, sign.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart notes that the Old French form was influenced by ban, a proclamation summoning vassals for war (see [[ban]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and Etymonline traces the Germanic word to PIE [[ine-pro|*bʰeh₂-|alt=*bha-|t=to shine]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A piece of cloth fixed to a pole, a standard: probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was formerly the standard of a king, lord or knight, behind which his followers marched and to which they rallied in battle,^(Etymonline) and troops under one banner is a sense from before 1300.^(Barnhart 1988) A flag carried in a procession is from about 1305,^(OED 1989) and the figurative sense, anything displayed as a profession of principles, from the early 14th century in Etymonline and 1581 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A flag awarded as a distinction is American from 1840.^(OED 1989) A newspaper headline across the top of the page is from 1913.^(Etymonline) The adjective, outstanding, is a later American sense.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – a standard.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1300 – troops under a banner.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 14th century – a profession of principles.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1840 – a flag awarded as a distinction.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1913 – a newspaper headline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long strip of cloth bearing a [[slogan]] or advertisement, or one carried in a procession or demonstration.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The [[flag]] of a nation, army or ruler; a standard.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something that represents a belief or principle.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[headline]] across the width of a newspaper page.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(US)'' Unusually good; outstanding: ''a banner year''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To give a story a banner headline.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bannered]]

+ * [[bannerless]]

+ * [[bannerlike]]

+ * [[bannerette]]

+ * [[bannerman]]

+ * [[banner cloud]]

+ * [[snow banner]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[band]]

+ * [[ban]]

+ * [[bannerol]]

+ * [[bandit]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Gloucestershire dialect banner was a name of the stickleback.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}