Etymology From Middle English ensigne, from Old French enseigne, from Latin īnsignia, nominative plural of īnsigne, meaning marked, distinguished. Doublet of insignia.
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]:
4
Nautical, Transport The principal flag or banner flown by a ship (usually at the stern) to indicate nationality.
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.1960 [a. 120], Ian Scott-Kilvert, “Life of Alcibiades”, in The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives, translation of original by Plutarch:
5
Any prominent flag or banner.
Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanced.1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
6
Historical A junior commissioned officer in the 18th and 19th centuries whose duty was to carry the unit's ensign.
Etymology From Middle English ensigne, from Old French enseigne, from Latin īnsignia, nominative plural of īnsigne, meaning marked, distinguished. Doublet of insignia.
HENRY but ioyn’d the Roses, that ensign’d / Particular families, but this hath ioyn’d / The Rose and Thistle,1610, Ben Jonson, The Speeches at Prince Henry's Barriers, archived from the original on 18 Nov 2018: