Σημεῖον [Greek: Sêmeion] (Semeion). This word appears to have been first used in the abstract meaning of "sign" or "signal"; to have been then applied to the object by which the signal was made, or which signalised the presence of the commanding officer. In the early period of Greece this was not a flag, but a staff-like object. =Insigne=, pl. =Insignia=. The Latin equivalent of the above, denoting a sign, signal, or staff of office. =Signum.= A token or sign, especially the distinctive sign of a division of the Roman army. Also used to denote "signal" in the abstract. =Vexillum.= A square flag hung from a transverse bar at the head of a staff; the principal form of flag in use in the classical period. In late writers this word is used to cover any form of flag, and from the eighth century onwards will be found applied as well to objects that were not flags, for which the word _insigne_ should have been used. =Banner= (late Latin _bandum_, _bannum_). A rectangular flag attached laterally to its staff. Originally of much greater depth than length, a "band" of coloured material attached to a lance by one of its longer sides, it gradually became square. The banner was primarily the personal flag of an emperor, king, lord or knight, and served to mark his presence in the army or fleet, and as a rallying point for his retainers. On the introduction of heraldic devices these were inserted upon it. It was also employed by religious or civic bodies for a similar purpose. In modern language this term is usually applied to flags hung from transverse bars, displayed in religious or political processions, but we shall not employ it in this meaning. [Illustration: PLATE I Early Flags] =Gonfanon=, =Gonfalon=. This word appears in the _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_ as _guðfana_, and in the _Chanson de Roland_ as _gunfanun_. It is apparently derived from the Norse _gunn-fane_ (war-flag) and in its earlier forms was probably of the shape shown on the Northumbrian coins about 925 A.D.[2] Among the Normans two centuries later it had a square body and ended in three or more long tails, a form handed on to the Italian Communes. Some writers apply this name (inaccurately) to flags of vexillum form, with or without tails at the base. =Standard.= This word presents great difficulty, and it has undergone a radical change in meaning which (so far as I am aware) has never been explained. As no historical survey of the development of the flag can fairly ignore the need for such an explanation it will be necessary to treat it at some length. At different periods in history since the eleventh century the word under one or more of its many forms (e.g. estandart, standart, standardum, standarz, standarum, standalem), has had the following meanings: (i) A tall pole or staff supporting some object that was not a flag. (ii) A tall pole or mast set in a four-wheeled chariot, supporting various objects, including one or more flags.