banderole

American  

[ban-duh-rohl] / ˈbæn dəˌroʊl /

Also banderol,

noun

1. a small flag or streamer fastened to a lance, masthead, etc.

2. a narrow scroll, usually bearing an inscription.

3. (especially in Renaissance architecture) a sculptured band, as on a building, adapted to receive an inscription.

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banderole British  

/ ˈbændəˌrəʊl /

noun

1. a long narrow flag, usually with forked ends, esp one attached to the masthead of a ship; pennant

2. a square flag draped over a tomb or carried at a funeral

3. a ribbon-like scroll or sculptured band bearing an inscription, found esp in Renaissance architecture

4. a streamer on a knight's lance

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Etymology

Origin of banderole

1555–65; < Middle French < Italian banderuola, equivalent to bandier ( a ) banner + -uola < Latin -e- or -i- + -ola -ole ²

Explanation

The long, skinny flag or banner that flies from the mast of a ship is called a banderole. Banderole comes from the Italian word banderuola, or "little banner." That's just what these elongated flags look like, banners with forked ends that flutter off the mast of an old sailing ship or a medieval knight's lance. In architecture, a banderole is also a representation of a streamer or scroll that's engraved with text — this kind of banderole is usually carved from stone.

Example Sentences

Before his time, the soldiers merely wore a banderole over their steel breast-plates and ordinary dresses.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 373, November 1846 by Various

The impression was in black and the distance between the banderole and the stamp was changed to 8 mm.

From Canada: Its Postage Stamps and Postal Stationery by Howes, Clifton Armstrong

The banderole was a small flag of yellow silk, with a red moon in the centre, and on the face of the moon a white cross.

From The Prince of India — Volume 02 by Wallace, Lewis

The Count led the prize to the banderole, and flinging the reins over it, faced the gleaming line of Janissaries once more, trumpet at mouth.

From The Prince of India — Volume 02 by Wallace, Lewis

No plume or nobloy fluttered from his plain tilting salade, and even his lance was devoid of the customary banderole.

From The White Company by Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir