the.com/flag
a rectangle of dyed cloth nations have happily died for
means A piece of cloth, usually rectangular, bearing colors or designs that stand for a nation, group, or signal — or, as a verb, to mark something for attention or to grow tired and droop.
from A word with more than one thread tangled inside it. The 'piece of cloth' sense appears in English around the 16th century, with no certain ancestor — possibly imitative of something flapping in the wind, or related to the older 'flag' meaning a drooping plant or reed. That second 'flag' — as in to flag, to weaken or hang limp — is likely the same family, suggesting the banner was named for the way it hangs and ripples. Then there's 'flagstone,' an entirely separate word from Old Norse 'flaga,' a slab or flake of stone. So 'flag' is really several unrelated words that drifted into the same spelling and shook hands.
- vexillology
- The serious academic study of flag design
- white surrender
- Documented battlefield use since at least 100 AD
- upside down
- Many nations' flags signal distress when inverted
- moon flags
- Six US flags stand bleached white by radiation
- semaphore
- Sailors spelled messages with two handheld flags
flag of denmark — oldest continuously used national flag, adopted in 1219
flag of nepal — only non-rectangular national flag, two stacked triangles
american flag on moon — planted by apollo 11 in 1969, likely bleached white now
iwo jima flag raising — iconic photograph by joe rosenthal, february 23 1945