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The design and description of flags typically uses specialised flag terminology with precise and technical meanings, and is hence a form of jargon. It has been suggested that the section intro from the article Civil flag be merged into this article or section. ...
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Description of standard flag parts and terms
Flag terminology diagram File links The following pages link to this file: Flag terminology Categories: GFDL images ...
- Badge – a coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, such as a shield.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 colours.
- 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.
Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ...
Union Jack. ...
Flag Ratio: 1:2 Flag Ratio: 3:5 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland uses as its national flag the Royal Banner commonly known as the Union Flag or, popularly, Union Jack (although officially this title should only be given to the flag when it is flown...
National flag and state ensign. ...
The National Flag of Canada, popularly known as the Maple Leaf and lUnifolié (French for the one-leaved), is a base red flag with a white square in its centre featuring a stylized, 11-pointed, red maple leaf. ...
Basic patterns in flags
 Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...
- See also: Gallery of flags by design
This is a gallery of flags arranged by design. ...
Techniques in flag display - Hoist – the act or function of raising a flag, as on a rope.
- 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 hoisted to half of the potential height of the available flag pole. Usually this is done by first raising the flag to the top, then lowering it halfway. (Equally valid 'half-masting' is flying the flag at two-thirds of its normal height.) 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"). 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. Illustration by Jessie Willcox Smith. ...
In logic (and usually without being paired with reverse), obverse has a meaning close to contrapositive. ...
The term obverse, and its opposite, reverse, describe the two sides of units of currency and many other kinds of two-sided objects, most often in reference to coins, but also to medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ...
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 set of symbols described in this article are known as international flag identification symbols, which were devised by Whitney Smith. Flag of the Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques. ...
The Dannebrog, national flag of Denmark, is the oldest state flag still in use. ...
Dr. Smith designed the flag of Guyana which was adopted in 1966. ...
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). Image File history File links FIAV_100000. ...
Image File history File links FIAV_010000. ...
Image File history File links FIAV_001000. ...
Image File history File links FIAV_000100. ...
Image File history File links FIAV_000010. ...
Image File history File links FIAV_000001. ...
Image File history File links FIAV_001001. ...
Royal Air Force Ensign The Royal Air Force Ensign is the official flag which 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 -
 Alternate 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
Image File history File links IFIS_Normal. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Proposed. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Reconstruction. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Reverse. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Variant. ...
Image File history File links IFIS for alternate version File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_De_facto. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Two-sided. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Sinister. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Authorized. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Historical. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Mirror. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Equal. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_No_reverse_info. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Vertical_normal. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Vertical_rotated. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Vertical_unknown. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Vertical_inapplicable. ...
Image File history File links IFIS_Vertical_exclusive. ...
See also This is a gallery of flags arranged by design. ...
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