Flag Flæɡ Piece Country Organization Noun Sense Middle

• the italian flag
• the flag of italy
• the hotel flies the european union flag.
• the american flag was flying.

flag

1. a piece of cloth with a special coloured design on it that may be the symbol of a particular country or organization, may be used to give a signal or may have a particular meaning. A flag can be attached to a pole (= a long thin straight piece of wood or metal) or held in the hand.
• SEE ALSO black flag
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/black-flag
• the Italian flag
• the flag of Italy
• The hotel flies the European Union flag.
• The American flag was flying.
• Hundreds of people cheered and waved flags.
• All the flags were at half mast (= in honour of a famous person who has died).
• The black and white flag went down, and the race began.
• The assistant referee had raised his flag for offside.
• A large Brazilian flag fluttered above the podium.
• His shot went closer to the corner flag than the goal.
• Australia's flag bearer (= person who carried the flag) at the Sydney Olympics

Extra Examples

• A tattered flag hung from the roof of the burnt-out building.
• The crowd all waved flags as the president came past.
• The fact that it was so cheap should have been a warning flag for me.
• a flag fluttering in the breeze
• a flag of truce
2. used to refer to a particular country or organization and its beliefs and values
• to swear allegiance to the flag
• The team competed under the Olympic flag.
• He was working under the flag of the United Nations.
3. a flower that is a type of iris and that grows near water
• SEE ALSO yellow flag
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/yellow-flag
• yellow flags
4. a large flat square piece of stone that is used for floors, paths, etc.
5. to show your support for your country, an organization or an idea to encourage or persuade others to do the same
6. to represent your country or organization
• Our exporters keep the flag flying at international trade exhibitions.
7. something that is likely to make somebody very angry

Word Origin

• noun senses 1 to 3 mid 16th cent.: perhaps from obsolete flag ‘drooping’, of unknown ultimate origin. noun sense 5 late Middle English (also in the sense ‘turf, sod’): probably of Scandinavian origin and related to Icelandic flag ‘spot from which a sod has been cut’ and Old Norse flaga ‘slab of stone’. noun sense 4 late Middle English: related to Middle Dutch flag and Danish flæg; of unknown ultimate origin.