ensign
/ˈɛn.sɪn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.27 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The lowest grade of commissioned officer in the United States Navy, junior to a lieutenant junior grade.
noun
A junior commissioned officer in the 18th and 19th centuries whose duty was to carry the unit's ensign.
verb
To distinguish by a mark or ornament.
Example Sentences
- "The Ensigns of our Power about we bear; / And every Land pays Tribute to the Fair."
- "The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy."
- "Hang up your ensigns, let your drums be still,"
- "But Alcibiades swiftly ran up the Athenian ensign on his flagship and bore down on that part of the Peloponnesian fleet which held the advantage and was pursuing the Athenians."
- "Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanced."
- "HENRY but ioyn’d the Roses, that ensign’d / Particular families, but this hath ioyn’d / The Rose and Thistle,"
Etymology
From Middle English ensigne, from Old French enseigne, from Latin īnsignia, nominative plural of īnsigne, meaning marked, distinguished. Doublet of insignia.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Military.
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
civil ensign
ensign first class
ensign fly
ensign scale
merchant ensign
red ensign
revenue ensign
ship of the line ensign
Synonyms
ancient
badge
coronet
second lieutenant
first NATO commissioned officer grade above OF-0 trainee officer
national flag