The design and description of flags typically uses specialised flag terminology with precise and technical meanings, and is hence a form of jargon. A flag is a piece of Cloth, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used Symbolically for signaling or identification For Wikipedia jargon see WikipediaGlossary. For hacker slang see Jargon File.
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Description of standard flag parts and terms
- Badge – a coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, such as a shield. Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms.
- Canton – any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist (left) quarter, such as the field of stars in the flag of the United States or the Union Flag in the Australian Flag. Flags of the United States The Flag of the United States of America consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of Red (top and bottom alternating The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland uses as its national flag the royal banner locally known as the Union Flag or popularly Union Jack The flag of Australia was chosen in 1901 from entries in a worldwide design competition held following Federation.
- 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. The National Flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf, and fr l'Unifolié ( French for "the one-leafed" is a red 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 colors.
- 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
- See also: Gallery of flags by design
Techniques in flag display
- Hoist – the act or function of raising a flag, as on a rope. This is a gallery of Flags arranged by design Solid See also Gallery of solid flags Four examples Bicolour See also
- 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 flown at half of the potential height of the available flag pole. Usually this is done by first hoisting the flag to the top, then lowering it to halfway. (Equally valid 'half-masting' is flying the flag at two-thirds of its normal height. This is especially applicable where the full height of the pole is not visible to most observers; for instance, where the pole is mounted on the roof of a building and the lower portion of the pole is not visible from street level. ) 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, or tying it into a wheft. [1]
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"). An illustration is a visualization such as a Drawing, Painting, Photograph or other work of Art that stresses subject more than 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. An Islamic flag is a Flag that complies with Islamic rules Traditionally Islamic flags were solid colour Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language
Vexillological 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 musical instrument is spelled Cymbal. A symbol is something --- such as an object, Picture, written word a sound a piece Vexillology is the scholarly study of Flags The word is a synthesis of the Latin word Vexillum and the suffix –''ology'', meaning "study A national flag is a Flag that symbolises a country The flag is flown by the government but usually can be flown by Citizens of that country as well The set of symbols described in this article are known as international flag identification symbols, which were devised by Whitney Smith. Whitney Smith is a professional Vexillologist, ie scholar of flags
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 where). The six basic contexts of use (and potential variants of a national flag) are:
civil flag – Flown by citizens on land. 
state flag – Flown on public buildings. 
war flag – Flown on military buildings. 
civil ensign – Flown on private vessels (fishing craft, cruise ships, yachts, etc). 
state ensign – Flown on unarmed government vessels. 
war ensign – Flown on warships.
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. 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). The Royal Air Force Ensign is the official Flag which is used to represent the Royal Air Force.
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:
Normal or de jure version of flag, or obverse side
Design was proposed in the past, but never officially adopted
Design is a reconstruction, based on past observations
Reverse side of flag
Design is an acceptable variant
Alternative version of flag
De facto version of flag
Flag has different designs on its obverse side and its reverse side
Obverse side meant to be hoisted with pole to the observer's right
Design officially authorized to represent nation by government of that nation
Design used in the past, but now abandoned (this symbol is not part of Smith's original set)
Reverse side is mirror image of obverse side
Reverse side is congruent to obverse side
Information on reverse side is not available
Flag can be hung vertically by hoisting on a normal pole, then turning the pole ninety degrees
Flag can be hung vertically by rotating the design first
Vertical hoist method of flag is unknown
Design has no element which can be rotated
Flag can only be hoisted vertically
See also
External links
This is a gallery of Flags arranged by design Solid See also Gallery of solid flags Four examples Bicolour See also For a list of flags see List of flags or Gallery of flags by design.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic