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Webster 1913 Edition

Banneret

Ban′ner-et

,
Noun.
[OE.
baneret
, OF.
baneret
, F.
banneret
; properly a dim. of OF.
baniere
. See
Banner
.]
1.
Originally, a knight who led his vassals into the field under his own banner; – commonly used as a title of rank.
2.
A title of rank, conferred for heroic deeds, and hence, an order of knighthood; also, the person bearing such title or rank.
☞ The usual mode of conferring the rank on the field of battle was by cutting or tearing off the point of the pennon or pointed flag on the spear of the candidate, thereby making it a banner.
3.
A civil officer in some Swiss cantons.
4.
A small banner.
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition

Banneret

BAN'NERET

,
Noun.
A knight made in the field. Bannerets formerly constituted an order of knights or feudal lords, who led their vassals to battle under their own flags. On the day of battle, the candidates presented their flags to the king or general, who cut off the train or skirt, and made it square. They were then called knights of the square flag. They were a middle order between barons and simple knights.

Definition 2024

banneret

banneret

English

Alternative forms

Noun

banneret ‎(plural bannerets)

  1. A noble, knighted feudal lord who has the right to lead his vassals to battle under his own banner
  2. A small banner.
    • c. 1604, William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well, Act II, Scene 3,
      […] yet the scarfs and the bannerets about thee did manifoldly dissuade me from believing thee a vessel of too great a burthen.
    • 1953, C. S. Lewis, The Silver Chair, Collins, 1998, Chapter 6,
      His armor and his horse were black; there was no device on his shield and no banneret on his spear.
  3. (military, historical) A proposed but unadopted senior commissioned rank of the Royal Air Force equivalent to group captain.
    • 1936, The Periodical (Oxford University Press), volumes 21–22, page 67
      A list of new titles was manufactured as follows: Ensign, Lieutenant, Flight-Leader, Squadron-Leader, Reeve, Banneret, Fourth-Ardian, Third-Ardian, Second-Ardian, Ardian, Air Marshal. […O]ne may regret “Banneret”, which has a flavour and associations, more especially as the leader of a formation in the air went into battle flying a streamer which formed a rallying mark as did the banner of the knight for his vassals.
  4. A civil officer in some Swiss cantons.

Synonyms

Translations

See also

  • knight bachelor

French

Etymology

bannière +‎ -et, see bannière, English banner.

Noun

banneret m ‎(plural bannerets)

  1. banneret (nobleman).

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

banneret n

  1. definite singular of banner

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

banneret n

  1. definite singular of banner

Etymology

Borrowing from French banneret.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌbænəɹˈet/

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