pennon means A long, narrow flag or streamer, often swallowtailed or triangular, usually hung at the top of a helmet or lance, originally the ensign of a knight under the rank of knight banneret, and later of a lancer regiment. It carries an Arena rating of 1644, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, pennon ranks #647 of 13,220 for Most Exacting Words, #684 of 13,220 for Most Malleable Words, #2,179 of 13,220 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,496 of 13,220 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
pennon is pronounced /ˈpɛnən/.
Why “pennon” is a great word
A long, narrow, often triangular or swallow-tailed flag, originally a knight's personal ensign on the lance. From Late Middle English pennon, from Anglo-Norman penoun and Old French penon, a diminutive of penne ('feather, wing'), from Latin penna. Unlike a banner—a broad, declarative rectangle of heraldry—or a pennant—a modern nautical or sports emblem—the pennon was a fluttering sliver of identity. It is the wind-ripped silk snapping above the charge, the painted swallow-tail dipping in salute, the last bright shred glimpsed in the dust of the melee—a fragile claim of self, a feather's vanity asserting its name against the anonymous crush of steel.
Etymology
From Late Middle English pennon, penoun (“long narrow flag attached to a lance or used in other contexts; one who bears a pennon, knight bachelor; plume of feathers; strip around the edge of a shield”), from Anglo-Norman penun (“feather of an arrow”), penoun (“flag attached to a lance”), Middle French pennon, penoun, and Old French penon (“flag attached to a lance”) (modern French pennon), from penne (“feather; wing”) + -on (diminutive suffix). Penne is inherited from Latin penna (“feather (especially a flight feather), pinion; wing”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread out; to fly (in the sense of spreading out wings)”).
noun
- A long, narrow flag or streamer, often swallowtailed or triangular, usually hung at the top of a helmet or lance, originally the ensign of a knight under the rank of knight banneret, and later of a lancer regiment.“Her yellovv lockes criſped, like golden vvyre, / About her ſhoulders vveren looſely ſhed, / And vvhen the vvinde emongſt them did inſpyre, / They vvaued like a penon vvyde diſpred / And lovv behinde her backe vvere ſcattered: […]”
- Any banner or flag.“Ceſar perceyuing the camp of hys enemyes to be empty, rolled vp his banners, and hid the penons and anteſignes of his ſouldiers, and conueying hys ſouldiers by ſlender companies out of hys greater camp into the leſſer, to thentent [the intent] it ſhould not be perceiued out of the towne, […]”
- Synonym of pinion (“a wing”).“[S]odainly there descended before him, as his face was bent towards the earth, an Angell, whose wings had glorious Pennons, and whose face glistered as the beames of the Sunne, […]”
- A heraldic charge in the form of a pennon (sense 1).
- Synonym of pennant (“a flag or streamer used on a ship”).“Lincolne a Ship moſt neatly that vvas lim'd, / In all her Sailes vvith Flags and Pennons trim'd.”
- A Knight Bachelor; also, a soldier who carries an ensign.“The Duke of Brabant had .xxiiij. Banners and .lxxx. Pennons, and in all, .vij. thouſand men.”
- An ornament that dangles or hangs down.
- Something resembling a pennon (sense 1).“[A] pillar of dark smoke, which ascended from the chimnies of the donjon, and spread its long dusky pennon through the clear ether, indicated that it was inhabited.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- gonfalon 86% match — A standard or ensign, consisting of a pole with a crosspiece from which a banner is suspended, especially as used in church processions, but also for civic and military display. vs pennon →
- gonfanon 86% match — A banner with three "tails", typically with the middle one longer than the others, and three loops at the top representing where it would have been attached to a pole. vs pennon →
- brattach 82% match — The standard of a Highland clan. vs pennon →
- panache 82% match — An ornamental plume on a helmet. vs pennon →
- oriflamme 81% match — The red silk banner of St Denis, which the abbot of St Denis gave to French kings as they rode to war in the Middle Ages. vs pennon →
- beauseant 81% match — The black and white standard (battle flag) of the Knights Templar. vs pennon →
- pursuivant 80% match — A functionary of lower rank than a herald, but discharging similar duties; an attendant of the heralds, e.g. in the College of Arms. vs pennon →
- accoutrement 79% match — A soldier's equipment, other than weapons and uniform. vs pennon →