Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Flag \Flag\, n. (Zo["o]l.)
One of the wing feathers next the body of a bird; -- called
also {flag feather}.
Flag \Flag\, v. t.
To decoy (game) by waving a flag, handkerchief, or the like
to arouse the animal's curiosity.
The antelope are getting continually shyer and more
difficult to flag. --T.
Roosevelt.
Flag \Flag\, n. [From {Flag} to hang loose, to bend down.]
(Bot.)
An aquatic plant, with long, ensiform leaves, belonging to
either of the genera {Iris} and {Acorus}.
{Cooper's flag}, the cat-tail ({Typha latifolia}), the long
leaves of which are placed between the staves of barrels
to make the latter water-tight.
{Corn flag}. See under 2d {Corn}.
{Flag broom}, a coarse of broom, originally made of flags or
rushes.
{Flag root}, the root of the sweet flag.
{Sweet flag}. See {Calamus}, n., 2.
Flag \Flag\, v. t.
To furnish or deck out with flags.
Flag \Flag\ (fl[a^]g), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Flagged}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Flagging}.] [Cf. Icel. flaka to droop, hang loosely.
Cf. {Flacker}, {Flag} an ensign.]
1. To hang loose without stiffness; to bend down, as flexible
bodies; to be loose, yielding, limp.
As loose it [the sail] flagged around the mast. --T.
Moore.
2. To droop; to grow spiritless; to lose vigor; to languish;
as, the spirits flag; the streugth flags.
The pleasures of the town begin to flag. --Swift.
Syn: To droop; decline; fail; languish; pine.
Flag \Flag\ (fl[a^]g), v. t.
1. To let droop; to suffer to fall, or let fall, into
feebleness; as, to flag the wings. --prior.
2. To enervate; to exhaust the vigor or elasticity of.
Nothing so flags the spirits. --Echard.
Flag \Flag\, n. [Cf. LG. & G. flagge, Sw. flagg, Dan. flag, D.
vlag. See {Flag} to hang loose.]
1. That which flags or hangs down loosely.
2. A cloth usually bearing a device or devices and used to
indicate nationality, party, etc., or to give or ask
information; -- commonly attached to a staff to be waved
by the wind; a standard; a banner; an ensign; the colors;
as, the national flag; a military or a naval flag.
3. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) A group of feathers on the lower part of the legs of
certain hawks, owls, etc.
(b) A group of elongated wing feathers in certain hawks.
(c) The bushy tail of a dog, as of a setter.
{Black flag}. See under {Black}.
{Flag captain}, {Flag leutenant}, etc., special officers
attached to the flagship, as aids to the flag officer.
{Flag officer}, the commander of a fleet or squadron; an
admiral, or commodore.
{Flag of truse}, a white flag carried or displayed to an
enemy, as an invitation to conference, or for the purpose
of making some communication not hostile.
{Flag share}, the flag officer's share of prize money.
{Flag station} (Railroad), a station at which trains do not
stop unless signaled to do so, by a flag hung out or
waved.
{National flag}, a flag of a particular country, on which
some national emblem or device, is emblazoned.
{Red flag}, a flag of a red color, displayed as a signal of
danger or token of defiance; the emblem of anarchists.
{To dip, the flag}, to mlower it and quickly restore it to
its place; -- done as a mark of respect.
{To hang out the white flag}, to ask truce or quarter, or, in
some cases, to manifest a friendly design by exhibiting a
white flag.
{To hang the flag} {half-mast high or half-staff}, to raise
it only half way to the mast or staff, as a token or sign
of mourning.
{To} {strike, or lower}, {the flag}, to haul it down, in
token of respect, submission, or, in an engagement, of
surrender.
{Yellow flag}, the quarantine flag of all nations; also
carried at a vessel's fore, to denote that an infectious
disease is on board.
Flag \Flag\, n. [Icel. flaga, cf. Icel. flag spot where a turf
has been cut out, and E. flake layer, scale. Cf. {Floe}.]
1. A flat stone used for paving. --Woodward.
2. (Geol.) Any hard, evenly stratified sandstone, which
splits into layers suitable for flagstones.
Flag \Flag\, v. t. [From {Flag} an ensign.]
1. To signal to with a flag; as, to flag a train.
2. To convey, as a message, by means of flag signals; as, to
flag an order to troops or vessels at a distance.
Flag \Flag\, v. t.
To lay with flags of flat stones.
The sides and floor are all flagged with . . . marble.
--Sandys.
Source : WordNet®
flag
n 1: emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of
distinctive design
2: plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing
bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three
drooping sepals [syn: {iris}, {fleur-de-lis}, {sword lily}]
3: a rectangular piece of fabric used as a signalling device
[syn: {signal flag}]
4: a listing printed in all issues of a newspaper or magazine
(usually on the editorial page) that gives the name of the
publication and the names of the editorial staff, etc.
[syn: {masthead}]
5: flagpole used to mark the position of the hole on a golf
green [syn: {pin}]
6: stratified stone that splits into pieces suitable as paving
stones [syn: {flagstone}]
7: a conspicuously marked or shaped tail
[also: {flagging}, {flagged}]
flag
v 1: communicate or signal with a flag
2: provide with a flag; "Flag this file so that I can recognize
it immediately"
3: droop, sink, or settle from or as if from pressure or loss
of tautness [syn: {sag}, {droop}, {swag}]
4: decorate with flags; "the building was flagged for the
holiday"
5: become less intense [syn: {ease up}, {ease off}, {slacken
off}]
[also: {flagging}, {flagged}]
Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing
flag
1. A variable or quantity that can take on one
of two values; a bit, particularly one that is used to
indicate one of two outcomes or is used to control which of
two things is to be done. "This flag controls whether to
clear the screen before printing the message." "The program
status word contains several flag bits." See also {hidden
flag}, {mode bit}.
2. {command line option}.
[{Jargon File}]
(1998-05-02)