ensign
(noun) colors flown by a ship to show its nationality
ensign
(noun) a person who holds a commissioned rank in the United States Navy or the United States Coast Guard; below lieutenant junior grade
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Ensign
A surname.
A hamlet in Alberta, Canada
A city in Kansas
(Mormonism) The official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• engins, genins
ensign (plural ensigns)
A badge of office, rank, or power.
The lowest grade of commissioned officer in the United States Navy, junior to a lieutenant junior grade.
A flag or banner carried by military units; a standard or color/colour.
Synonym: ancient
(nautical) The principal flag or banner flown by a ship (usually at the stern) to indicate nationality.
Any prominent flag or banner.
(historical) A junior commissioned officer in the 18th and 19th centuries whose duty was to carry the unit's ensign.
• See badge
(junior commissioned officer)
• coronet (cavalry equivalent of the infantry ensign)
• second lieutenant (OF-1), first NATO commissioned officer grade above OF-0 trainee officer
ensign (third-person singular simple present ensigns, present participle ensigning, simple past and past participle ensigned)
(obsolete) To designate as by an ensign.
To distinguish by a mark or ornament.
(heraldry) To distinguish by an ornament, especially by a crown.
• engins, genins
Source: Wiktionary
En"sign, n. Etym: [L. enseigne, L. insignia, pl. of insigne a distinctive mark, badge, flag; in + signum mark, sign. See Sign, and cf. Insignia, 3d Ancient.]
1. A flag; a banner; a standard; esp., the national flag, or a banner indicating nationality, carried by a ship or a body of soldiers; -- as distinguished from flags indicating divisions of the army, rank of naval officers, or private signals, and the like. Hang up your ensigns, let your drums be still. Shak.
2. A signal displayed like a standard, to give notice. He will lift an ensign to the nations from far. Is. v. 26.
3. Sign; badge of office, rank, or power; symbol. The ensigns of our power about we bear. Waller.
4. (a) Formerly, a commissioned officer of the army who carried the ensign or flag of a company or regiment. (b) A commissioned officer of the lowest grade in the navy, corresponding to the grade of second lieutenant in the army. Ham. Nav. Encyc.
Note: In the British army the rank of ensign was abolished in 1871. In the United States army the rank is not recognized; the regimental flags being carried by a sergeant called the color sergeant. Ensign bearer, one who carries a flag; an ensign.
En"sign, v. t.
1. To designate as by an ensign. [Obs.] Henry but joined the roses that ensigned Particular families. B. Jonson.
2. To distinguish by a mark or ornament; esp. (Her.), by a crown; thus, any charge which has a crown immediately above or upon it, is said to be ensigned.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
29 May 2025
(adjective) characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; “a critical reading”; “a critical dissertation”; “a critical analysis of Melville’s writings”
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
