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Word "flag" in different languages: Etymological index

Last modified: 2016-03-24 by antónio martins
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See also:
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Introduction

Note: Bold face language links indicate “main” "flag" word.

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Etym "(uniques)"

List (59 words):

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Etym "*ala"

List (11 words):

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Etym "*band-"

List (66 words):

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Discussion

A very fertile ancestor word is the "ban(d)-" words. Most of them come through Spanish "bandera" and/or Portuguese "bandeira", but some (namely old European words such as Gaelic "baner" and almost all Italic and Gallic dialects) seem to derive directly from Late Latin "banderium" (plural: "banderia"). This in turn seems to come from Persian, perhaps via Byzantine Greek "mpandon", but I could not confirm this.

At any rate, I know a Portuguese word that seems related: "pano", meaning "cloth"; it seems to share a common etym and yet didn’t come along with Latin "banderia". On the other hand, there’s Latin "pendere", "to hang" (as in "pending" = "“hanging” in wait") — from which derive several "flag" words, such as English "pennant" and Spanish "pendón".

Would "ban(d)-" stem be cognate with the root of so many words akin to *"fan-", found in most Germanic languages?

António Martins, 12 Sep 2007

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Etym "*bayrak"

List (21 words):

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Etym "*brataq"

List (3 words):

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Etym "*čorgoj"

List (2 words):

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Etym "*drap-"

List (11 words):

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Discussion

A common etymology for these words is "cloth", as in French "drapeau" and its numerous offspring of words meaning "flag" in several languages. As far as I know, it does not mean "cloth" in French (any more), but cognates "trapo" in Portuguese and "тряпка" in Russian both mean "rag".
António Martins, 12 Sep 2007

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Etym "*dvaj-"

List (6 words):

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Etym "*fan-"

List (22 words):

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Discussion

Would the "ban(d)-" stem be cognate with the root of so many words akin to *"fan-", found in most Germanic languages?
António Martins, 12 Sep 2007

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Etym "*flag"

List (47 words):

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Etym "*flam-"

List (6 words):

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Etym "*gallard-"

List (2 words):

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Etym "*geus"

List (11 words):

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Etym "*jak"

List (2 words):

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Etym "*jamd-"

List (10 words):

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Etym "*karogs"

List (2 words):

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Etym "*ki"

List (12 words):

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Etym "*kolor"

List (3 words):

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Etym "*kotti"

List (4 words):

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Etym "*labar-"

List (3 words):

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Etym "*lip"

List (3 words):

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Discussion

The word for "flag" in Finnish ("lippu") and Estonian ("lipp") (and others from the same etym, I presume) is derived from an onomatopoeia (Source: English Wiktionnary entry for "lipp" and "lippu"), i.e., a word that sounds like what it stands for. I wonder what kind of wind and rigging would cause a flag to go lip-lip, though, and if other langauges have anything like this.
António Martins, 23 Mar 2016

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Etym "*merg-"

List (3 words):

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Etym "*pan-"

List (5 words):

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Etym "*parj-"

List (4 words):

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Etym "*pataka"

List (7 words):

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Etym "*pavilion"

List (3 words):

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Etym "*prapor"

List (4 words):

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Etym "*pyw"

List (3 words):

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Etym "*sanjak"

List (3 words):

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Etym "*semi"

List (2 words):

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Etym "*sign"

List (5 words):

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Etym "*stand-"

List (15 words):

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Discussion

"Steg/stijeg" is parallel to "standard" — the flag that denotes the "standing/standpoint" of its owner.
Željko Heimer, 16 Aug 2007

Also "zastava" has that meaning: at least in Russian "стоять" means "to stand (up)" ("za" being a dative preffix / preposition). Similar etymologies seem to be common for many words meaning "flag", reinforced, of course, by each other.
António Martins, 12 Sep 2007

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Etym "*steg"

List (7 words):

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Discussion

"Steg/stijeg" is parallel to "standard" — the flag that denotes the "standing/standpoint" of its owner.
Željko Heimer, 16 Aug 2007

Also "zastava" has that meaning: at least in Russian "стоять" means "to stand (up)" ("za" being a dative preffix / preposition). Similar etymologies seem to be common for many words meaning "flag", reinforced, of course, by each other.
António Martins, 12 Sep 2007

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Etym "*tug"

List (10 words):

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Etym "*turus-"

List (6 words):

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Etym "*veliava"

List (2 words):

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Etym "*vexil-"

List (2 words):

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Etym "*vimpl-"

List (10 words):

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Etym "*wa-wa-"

List (5 words):

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Etym "*za-stav-"

List (5 words):

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Discussion

"Steg/stijeg" is parallel to "standard" — the flag that denotes the "standing/standpoint" of its owner.
Željko Heimer, 16 Aug 2007

Also "zastava" has that meaning: at least in Russian "стоять" means "to stand (up)" ("za" being a dative preffix / preposition). Similar etymologies seem to be common for many words meaning "flag", reinforced, of course, by each other.
António Martins, 12 Sep 2007

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Etym "*znam-"

List (5 words):

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