ensign staff

American  

noun

1. a staff at the stern of a vessel at which the ensign is flown.

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Etymology

Origin of ensign staff

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ensign staff

At sunrise, Mayne hoisted the house-flag, and the Stars and Stripes drooped languidly half way up the ensign staff, until the glassy calm broke and the sea breeze straightened the blue and silver folds.

From The Buccaneer Farmer Published in England under the Title "Askew's Victory" by Bindloss, Harold

When the admiral would have the other squadrons to make more sail, though he himself shorten sail, a white ensign shall be put on the ensign staff of the admiral ship.

From Fighting Instructions, 1530-1816 Publications Of The Navy Records Society Vol. XXIX. by Corbett, Julian S. (Julian Stafford)

Their ensign staff is very long and high, being bent at top like a bow; but the colours, hardly a yard in breadth, hang down from the top like a long pendant.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 08 by Kerr, Robert

As soon as the Resolution saw us preparing to come to, she fired her guns, and hoisted an English jack at the ensign staff, the signal at sea to lead a-head.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 17 Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time by Kerr, Robert

When the admiral would have the other squadrons to make more sail, though himself shorten sail, a white ensign shall be put on the ensign staff of the admiral's ships.

From Fighting Instructions, 1530-1816 Publications Of The Navy Records Society Vol. XXIX. by Corbett, Julian S. (Julian Stafford)