pennon

American  

[pen-uhn] / ˈpɛn ən /

noun

1. a distinctive flag in any of various forms, as tapering, triangular, or swallow-tailed, formerly one borne on the lance of a knight.

2. a pennant.

3. any flag or banner.

4. a wing or pinion.

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pennon British  

/ ˈpɛnən /

noun

1. a long flag, often tapering and rounded, divided, or pointed at the end, originally a knight's personal flag

2. a small tapering or triangular flag borne on a ship or boat

3. a poetic word for wing

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Other Word Forms

• pennoned adjective
• unpennoned adjective

Etymology

Origin of pennon

1325–75; Middle English penon < Middle French, augmentative of Old French pene < Latin penna or pinna feather. See pen ¹

Example Sentences

Sir Robert now stood before them, revealed not as a knight in glittering plate armor with pennon flying from his lance, but as what he had been all along: a grave, punctilious, honest lawyer.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2019

They brought with them a gift for the Belgian Society of Napoleonic Studies: a pennon of the Imperial Guard, carried from the battlefield 138 years ago.

From Time Magazine Archive

The principal varieties of flags borne during the middle ages were the pennon, the banner and the standard.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various

That she had pride was plain enough—the fine pride of courage; the pride of a slim, strong young tree that stands firm in winds that tear and beat, flaunting a brave green pennon.

From Poppy The Story of a South African Girl by Stockley, Cynthia

In many of the illuminations of MSS. in the fifteenth century we also find a gold dragon on a red pennon, as one of the ensigns in the French armies.

From Flags: Some Account of their History and Uses. by Macgeorge, Andrew