flag
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /flæɡ/
rhymes: -æɡ
rhymes: -eɪɡ
Forms: form: flags
form: flagging
form: flagged
form: flagged
Etymology: From Middle English flag, flagge (“flag”), further etymology uncertain. Perhaps from or related to early Middle English flage (name for a baby's garment) and Old English flagg, flacg (“cataplasm, poultice, plaster”). Or, perhaps ultimately imitative, or otherwise drawn from Proto-Germanic *flaką (“something flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat, broad, plain”), referring to the shape.
Germanic cognates include Saterland Frisian Flaage (“flag”), West Frisian flagge (“flag”), Dutch vlag (“flag”), German Flagge (“flag”), Swedish flagga (“flag”), Danish flag (“flag, ship's flag”). Compare also Middle English flacken (“to flutter, palpitate”), Swedish dialectal flage (“to flutter in the wind”), Old Norse flögra (“to flap about”). Akin to Old High German flogarōn (“to flutter”), Old High German flogezen (“to flutter, flicker”), Middle English flakeren (“to move quickly to and fro”), Old English flacor (“fluttering, flying”). More at flack, flacker.
Senses: glosses: To furnish or deck out with flags.
examples: text: Walcott was, briefly, awarded a penalty when he was upended in the box but referee Phil Dowd reversed his decision because Bendtner had been flagged offside.
ref: 2011 January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds”, in BBC:
glosses: To mark with a flag, especially to indicate the importance of something.
examples: text: Please flag down a taxi for me.
text: The electric locomotive is accompanied by a shunter who, in addition to his normal duties, flags the trains over the unprotected level crossings and opens the gates through which the line passes.
ref: 1957 December 24, H. R. Stones, “The Hellingly Hospital Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 872:
glosses: To signal to, especially to stop a passing vehicle etc.
examples: text: to flag an order to troops or vessels at a distance
glosses: To convey (a message) by means of flag signals.
examples: text: I've flagged up the need for further investigation into this.
text: Users of the Internet forum can flag others' posts as inappropriate.
glosses: To note, mark or point out for attention.
examples: text: The compiler flagged three errors.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: To signal (an event).
examples: text: Flag the debug option before running the program.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: To set a program variable to true.
examples: text: This method of hunting, however, is not so much practised now as formerly, as the antelope are getting continually shyer and more difficult to flag.
ref: 1885, Theodore Roosevelt, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman:
glosses: To decoy (game) by waving a flag, handkerchief, etc. to arouse the animal's curiosity.
examples: text: The defender was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To penalize for an infraction.
examples: Mark Dvoretsky (2014), For Friends & Colleagues, volume 1, →ISBN: “Indeed, I usually spent an hour to an hour and a half on my game, never found myself in time pressure, never once flagged in my entire life, except in blitz games, of course.”
topics: board-games
chess
games
glosses: To lose on time, especially in a blitz game; when using a traditional analog chess clock, a flag would fall when time expired.
examples: text: White was winning positionally, but Black managed to flag him and win.
topics: board-games
chess
games
glosses: To defeat (an opponent) on time, especially in a blitz game.
topics: engineering
firearms
government
military
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
politics
tools
war
weaponry
glosses: To point the muzzle of a firearm at a person or object one does not intend to fire on.
examples: text: After he flagged Algebra, Mike was ineligible for the football team.
glosses: To fail, such as a class or an exam.
examples: text: During estrus, most bitches will flirt with males by backing up to them, flagging their tails in the males’ faces, urinating frequently, and generally acting seductive.
ref: 1996, The Complete Book of Dog Breeding, page 9:
text: She will avert her tail to the side (flagging), standing still when the male mounts.
ref: 2011 January 3, Pete Haswell, “Life and Behaviour of Wolves”, in Wolf Print:
topics: biology
natural-sciences
glosses: In female canids, to signal mating readiness by moving the tail aside to expose the vulva.
Derived terms: flag away
flag up
Related terms: banner
colour
ensign
jack
pennant
standard
vexillology