ensign

What it means

1. A badge of office, rank, or power.

   The Ensigns of our Power about we bear; / And every Land pays Tribute to the Fair.

   1690, Edmund Waller, The Maid’s Tragedy, Alter’d by Mr Waller, page 8

2. The lowest grade of commissioned officer in the United States Navy, junior to a lieutenant junior grade.

   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.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter X, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

3. A flag or banner carried by military units; a standard or color/colour.

   Hang up your ensigns, let your drums be still,

   1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv]

   Synonyms: ancient

In a sentence

The Ensigns of our Power about we bear; / And every Land pays Tribute to the Fair.

1690, Edmund Waller, The Maid’s Tragedy, Alter’d by Mr Waller, page 8

Where it comes from

1. Latinīnsignia
2. Old Frenchenseigne
3. Middle Englishensigne
4. Englishensign

From Middle English ensigne, from Old French enseigne, from Latin īnsignia, nominative plural of īnsigne, meaning marked, distinguished. Doublet of insignia.