Ensign
WordNet
noun
(1) Colors flown by a ship to show its nationality
(2) An emblem flown as a symbol of nationality
(3) A person who holds a commissioned rank in the United States Navy or the United States Coast Guard; below lieutenant junior grade
WiktionaryText
Noun
- The lowest grade of commissioned officer in the United States Navy, junior to a lieutenant junior grade.
- A flag or banner carried by military units. See standard, color, colour.
- The principal flag or banner flown by a ship to indicate nationality.
- A junior commissioned officer in the 18th and 19th Centuries whose duty was to carry the unit's ensign.
- A prominent flag or banner.
- Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanced. -Milton, Paradise Lost.