oriflamme

American  

[awr-uh-flam, or-] / ˈɔr əˌflæm, ˈɒr- /

noun

1. the red banner of St. Denis, near Paris, carried before the early kings of France as a military ensign.

2. any ensign, banner, or standard, especially one that serves as a rallying point or symbol.

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oriflamme British  

/ ˈɒrɪˌflæm /

noun

1. a scarlet flag, originally of the abbey of St Denis in N France, adopted as the national banner of France in the Middle Ages

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Etymology

Origin of oriflamme

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English oriflam, oriflamble, from Middle French, Old French oriflamme, oriflambe, equivalent to orie “golden” (from Latin aurea, feminine of aureus, derivative of aurum “gold”) + flamme; see origin at flame

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

oriflamme

His white hands and fuzzy platinum hair gleaming like an oriflamme, he led the youths through a spirited charge on Bach.

From Time Magazine Archive

As London topers know, these lines are the doggerel oriflamme of that immemorial public house, "Finch's in the Strand."

From Time Magazine Archive

Before San Francisco's famed Commonwealth Club, where the late President Roosevelt first raised the oriflamme of the New Deal, the Ford Co.'s 28-year-old president went back to old principles.

From Time Magazine Archive

Speaking before the Detroit Economic Club, Mr. Crawford rarely mentioned the Association's oriflamme of "free private enterprise" without interpolating the word "competitive" in lieu of "private."

From Time Magazine Archive

His great disorderly mop of bright red hair stood erect on his scalp like an oriflamme.

From The Thunders of Silence by Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury) Cobb

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