Ensign (rank)
Ensign ( /ˈɛnsən/) is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name.
"Ensign" is enseigne in French, Fähnrich in German (whereby despite the fact that "Fähnrich" has a parallel etymology, it is not a junior officer but only an officer cadet rank), and chorąży in Polish, each of which derives from a term for a flag. The Spanish alférez and Portuguese alferes is a junior officer rank below lieutenant associated with carrying the flag, and so is often translated as "ensign". Unlike the rank in other languages, its etymology has nothing to do with flags.
The NATO rank code is OF-1 (junior).
Read more about Ensign (rank): Argentina, France and Canada, Austria and Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, United Kingdom, United States
Famous quotes containing the word ensign:
“How oft when men are at the point of death
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A lightning before death: O, how may I
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)