Dictionary of Vexillology: N (Naiant - Numeral Pennant)

Last modified: 2013-04-01 by rob raeside
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On this page:

• NAIANT (or NATANT)
• NAIL (or NAILING) ONE’S COLOURS (COLORS or FLAG) TO THE MAST
• NAILS (or NAILING)
• NAINANT
• NAISSANT (or NASCENT)
• NAME PENNANT
• NARROW PENNANT
• NATANT
• NATIONAL ARMS (or COAT OF ARMS)
• NATIONAL BANNER
• NATIONAL COLOUR (or COLOR)
• NATIONAL COLOURS (or COLORS)
• NATIONAL FLAG
• NATIONAL ORNAMENT
• NATIONAL PENNANT (or WIMPEL)
• NATIONAL SYMBOLS
• NATIONALLY-CANTONED FLAG
• NATURAL
• NAVAL CROWN
• NAVAL ENSIGN
• NAVAL FLAG/PENNANT
• NAVY FLAG
• NEBULY
• NEEDLEWORK
• NEF
• NETTLE LEAF
• NIMBED
• NIMBUS
• NOBOBI
• NOIR
• NORDIC CROSS
• NORTH-EAST DIAGONAL
• NORTH-SOUTH DIAGONAL
• NUMBER FLAG
• NUMERAL (or NUMERIC SIGNAL) FLAG
• NUMERAL PENNANT

NAIANT (or NATANT)

See ‘appendix V’.

Flag of Nyon, Switzerland (fotw)

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NAIL (or NAILING) ONE’S COLOURS (COLORS or FLAG) TO THE MAST

In British RN and some other usage, the term (employed as a metaphor for taking an irrevocable action) which refers to a ship’s ensign being nailed to the mast before or during an engagement at sea, thus making it impossible to strike (or lower) it in surrender (see also ‘strike’).

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NAILS (or NAILING)

1) (n) One means by which a colour or parade flag is sometimes fixed – often by a precisely regulated number of nails - to its staff (see also ‘colour 2)’, ‘colours 2)’, ‘parade flag’, ‘sleeve’, ‘tab’ and ‘ties’).

2) (adj) The act, sometimes ceremonial, of attaching a colour or parade flag to is its staff by nails.

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NAINANT

A frequent misspelling of the heraldic term “naiant” – see ‘naiant’ in ‘Appendix V:’.

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NAISSANT (or NASCENT)

The heraldic term for a charge or figure emerging from the side of a shield, banner of arms or a flag, or the centre of an ordinary – nascent – but see ‘issuant’ with following note (also ‘banner of arms’ and ‘ordinary’).

Flag of Chavannes-sur-Moudon, Switzerland (fotw); Arms and Flag of Makarska, Croatia (fotw)

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NAME PENNANT

The term for a flag or pennant that bears the name of a ship or possibly a shipping company or an institution – an onomast.

The John Gibson, Barque, Nova Scotia, 1875 (fotw)

Notes
a) The (often unofficial) practice of flying such a flag or pennant aboard ship began in the 19th Century, and could now be largely (but certainly not entirely) obsolete.
b) The practice of displaying a name pennant is continued by some universities in the US - particularly at sporting venues (see also ‘institutional flags (unofficial)’ and ‘sports flag 2)’).

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NARROW PENNANT

See ‘masthead pendant’.

Narrow/Masthead Pennant of Norway (fotw)

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NATANT

See ‘naiant’ in appendix V.

Flag of Fischenthal, Switzerland (fotw)

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NATIONAL ARMS (or COAT OF ARMS)

See ‘state arms’ under ‘arms’.

National Arms of Venezuela

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NATIONAL BANNER

See ‘banner 8)’.

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NATIONAL COLOUR (or COLOR)

1) See ‘colour 2)’.

2) Where only one colour is selected (generally one appearing on the flag) to be the national colour, as in for example the Rhododendron Red of Nepal.

National Colour (Army and Air Force), US (fotw)

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NATIONAL COLOURS (or COLORS)

1) A plural form of ‘colour 2)’.

2) Usually the two or three principal colours of a national flag - for example, the blue, white and red / red, white and blue of France and the US, or the red and white of Poland - landesfarben (see also ‘cockade’, ‘livery colours’, ‘national symbols’, ‘roundel 1)’, ‘sash 1)’ and ‘state colours 3)’).

     
National Colours of Italy, the US, France and Poland

Please note with regard to 2) that the colours concerned need not necessarily be those of the relevant national flag, as in for example, the green chosen by Slovenia or the Australian national sporting colours of green and gold.

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NATIONAL FLAG

1) A flag that represents an independent state, especially a nation-state.

2) A flag of a formerly independent state or of a non-independent national group (see also ‘tribal flag’)

3) That flag which is generally thought of as representing a state when specific circumstances of display are not considered – for example, some flag books might give a plain tricolour with stars as the national flag of Venezuela, whilst others may show the flag with arms as illustrated below (see also ‘tricolour 1)’).

Former National Flag of Tibet (fotw); Flags With and Without Arms, Venezuela (fotw) and Spain (fotw)

Notes
a) In some countries the national flag is available for use by all citizens. In other countries, however, the national flag is restricted to official use by law or custom, with a variant of it as a civil flag for use by private citizens.
b) The national flag may have other variants with specific uses on land and/or sea, and that these are herein listed separately according to type (see also those flags listed under ‘ensign’, as well as ‘civil flag’, ‘jack’, ‘state flag’ and ‘war flag’).

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NATIONAL ORNAMENT

A decorative strip (usually placed along he hoist of a flag) intended to represent a folk or traditional element of national culture, and particularly prevalent among Eastern Slavic and Siberian states such as Belarus, Kazakhstan and Mariy El.

National Flag of Kazakhstan (fotw); National Flag of Belarus (fotw); Flag of Mariy El, Russian Federations (fotw)

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NATIONAL PENNANT (or WIMPEL)

See ‘wimpel 1)’.

The National Pennant/Wimpel of Norway (fotw & CS)

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NATIONAL SYMBOLS

Those things, often established by law, which have been adopted as being symbolic of a country, these may include the national flag, national coat of arms, emblem or seal, the national colours, the national anthem and possibly a plant, fruit, animal and/or a bird etc (see also ‘national colours 2)’ and ‘state symbols 2)’).

Some National Symbols of India: National Flag, National Emblem, National Animal – Tiger, National Bird - Peacock and National Flower - Lotus (fotw and Official Website)

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NATIONALLY-CANTONED FLAG

See ‘canton flag’.

Joint Service Flag, Jordan

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NATURAL

See ‘proper’.

 
Arms and Flag of New York, US (fotw)

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NAVAL CROWN

A crown generally (but not exclusively) formed from the sterns and square sails of ships placed upon a circle or fillet, and loosely based on an ancient Roman triumphal ornament of the same name (see also ‘civic crown’, ‘crown’, ‘fillet 3)’, ‘mural crown’ and ‘yachting crown’).

From left: UK (Parker), Italy (free.vector)

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NAVAL ENSIGN

See under ‘ensign’.

Naval Ensign of Croatia (fotw)

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NAVAL FLAG/PENNANT

1) Generically any flag or pennant used in a solely naval environment.

2) Specifically flags such as jacks, masthead pennants, signal flags, rank flags and ensigns, except where the latter is also the national flag/war flag, flown exclusively by naval vessels and naval shore establishments (see also ‘jack’, ‘masthead pennant’, ‘naval ensign’ under ‘ensign’, ‘navy flag’ and ‘suit of colours’).

Naval Jack of Spain (fotw); Naval Ensign of Morocco (fotw); Signal Flag Numeral 1 in the RN/USN/NATO Code; Flag of Naval Group Commander, Morocco (fotw)

Please note that the Editors consider the generic definition in 1) as too broad to be employed with any accuracy and that the various flags/pennants listed in definition 2) and defined separately herein, should be preferred in description.

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NAVY FLAG

See ‘branch of service flag’ (also ‘armed services flag’).

Navy Flag, Thailand (fotw); Navy Flag, The Philippines (fotw)

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NEBULY

(adj.) The heraldic term for a sharply undulating line of division on a shield, banner or arms or a flag, or the edge of an ordinary such as a fess or chevron, and intended to represent clouds – but see note below (also ‘banner of arms’, ‘fess’, ‘chevron 1)’ and ‘ordinary’).

Flag of Buochs, Switzerland (fotw); Flag of Tartar, Switzerland (fotw); Flag of Groesbeek, The Netherlands (fotw)

Please note that this term is not to be confused with unde, undy or wavy – see ‘wavy’

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NEEDLEWORK

See ‘embroider’

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NEF

A type of single-masted, medieval trading vessel (usually shown with fore and aft castles as equipped for war) – but see ‘lymphad’ and its following note.

Flag of Hauts-de-Seine, France (fotw)

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NETTLE LEAF

In Continental (often but not exclusively German) heraldry, a term for the (usually) white charge that is reputed to be a development of the zig-zag border (see also ‘serrated 1)’).

Flag and Arms of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany (fotw); Flag of Kiel, Germany (fotw); Arms and Flag of Pinneberg, Germany (fotw)

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NIMBED

The heraldic term for being depicted wearing a halo – see ‘nimbus’

Flag and Arms of Škabrnje, Croatia (fotw); Flag of Saint-Cierges, Switzerland (fotw)

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NIMBUS

The heraldic term for a halo, the aura (or circle of light) that surrounds the head in the representation of a saint or of a holy animal – see ‘nimbed’ (also ‘agnus dei’ and ‘Eye of God’).

 
Flag of Titterten, Switzerland (fotw); Flag of the Veneto Region, Italy; Flag and Arms of Kastav, Croatia (fotw); Flag of Glarus, Switzerland (fotw)

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NOBOBI

See ‘daimyo flags’

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NOIR

The French for black and sometimes (mistakenly) used instead of the correct heraldic term sable – see ‘sable’.

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NORDIC CROSS

See ‘Scandinavian cross’.

National Flag of Iceland (fotw)

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NORTH-EAST DIAGONAL

A diagonal stripe running from the upper fly edge to the lower hoist corner, whose corners may or may not touch the corners of the flag but whose width is contained within the length of the flag at its top edge and the width of the flag at its fly (see also ‘Appendix IX’, ‘ascending diagonal’, ‘descending diagonal’, ‘east-south diagonal’, ‘east-west diagonal’, ‘north-south diagonal’, ‘south-east diagonal’, ‘south-north diagonal’, ‘west-east diagonal’), ‘west-north diagonal’, and ‘west-south diagonal’).

Flag of Nýrov, Czech Republic (fotw)

Please note that this term, whilst an extension of those existing and established, has been introduced by the editors.

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NORTH-SOUTH DIAGONAL

A diagonal stripe that runs from the upper hoist to the lower fly, and whose corners generally (but not invariably) touch the corners of the flag but whose width is entirely contained within the length of the flag – an enhanced bend - see ‘bend’ (also ‘ascending diagonal’, ‘descending diagonal’, ‘east-south diagonal’, ‘east-west diagonal’, ‘north-east diagonal’, ‘south-east diagonal’, ‘south-north diagonal’, ‘west-east diagonal’), ‘west-north diagonal’), and ‘west-south diagonal’).

National Flag of Trinidad and Tobago (fotw); Flag of Arco-Νris, Brazil (Ivan Sache); Flag of Glorinha, Brazil (fotw)

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NUMBER FLAG

See 'insurance flag'.

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NUMERAL (or NUMERIC SIGNAL) FLAG

Any one of a set of straight-sided flags of simple design representing the numerals zero to nine, and used in some naval flag signal codes – a numeric signal flag (see also 'numeral pennant' and ‘signal flag’).

Numeral Flags 0 – 3 in the RN/USN/NATO Code of Naval Signals (fotw)

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NUMERAL PENNANT

Any one of a set of tapered square-ended pennants (or trapezoids) of simple design representing the numerals zero to nine, and used in the International Code of Signal flags as well as some naval flag signal codes (see also ‘code pennant’, ‘International Code of Signal Flags’, 'numeral flag', ‘signal flag’, ‘substitute’ and ‘trapezoid 2)’).

Numeral Pennants 0 to 3 in the International Code of Signals (CS)

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