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Word "flag" in different languages: Etymological index

Last modified: 2009-09-12 by antónio martins
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Introduction

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

Etym "*ala"

List (5 words):

Etym "*band-"

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

List (57 words):

Etym "*bayrak"

List (14 words):

Etym "*bratakh"

List (3 words):

Etym "*drap-"

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

List (10 words):

Etym "*dvaj-"

List (3 words):

Etym "*fan-"

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

List (18 words):

Etym "*flag"

List (37 words):

Etym "*flam-"

List (3 words):

Etym "*jak"

List (2 words):

Etym "*jamd-"

List (7 words):

Etym "*ki"

List (11 words):

Etym "*kolor"

List (3 words):

Etym "*kotti"

List (2 words):

Etym "*lip"

List (3 words):

Etym "*merg-"

List (2 words):

Etym "*parcham"

List (2 words):

Etym "*pataka"

List (4 words):

Etym "*prapor"

List (4 words):

Etym "*pyw"

List (2 words):

Etym "*sanjak"

List (3 words):

Etym "*sign"

List (3 words):

Etym "*stand-"

"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

List (11 words):

Etym "*steg"

"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

List (6 words):

Etym "*thong"

List (3 words):

Etym "*turus-"

List (3 words):

Etym "*veliava"

List (2 words):

Etym "*vexil-"

List (2 words):

Etym "*vimpl-"

List (9 words):

Etym "*za-stav-"

"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

List (5 words):

Etym "*znam-"

List (4 words):

Etymological uniques

List (61 words):

Anything below this line was not added by the editor of this page.