- MEAL FLAG/PENNANT
- 1) See ‘dinner flag’.
- 2) In US usage the practice, almost certainly obsolete, of flying a red triangular
pennant from the port yardarm (or spreader) of a pleasure vessel when the crew are at
meals – a crew’s meal pennant (see also
‘dinner flag’,
‘guest on board flag’,
‘owner absent flag’
and ‘yardarm’).
Dinner Flag, US (fotw);
Meal Pennant, US (fotw)
- MEATBALL
- 1) See ‘battle efficiency pennant’.
2) In US usage, now obsolete, a colloquial (and possibly derogatory) term for the national
roundel of Japan see ‘roundel 1)’
(also ‘hinomaru’).
Battle Efficiency Pennant (fotw); National Roundel of
Japan (fotw)
- MEDIAN
- See ‘meridian’.
- MEDIATED
- An alternative heraldic term to dimidiated - see ‘dimidiated’.
Arms and Flag of Dobrodzień, Poland (fotw)
- MEDIEVAL SAILING SHIP (or MEDIEVAL SAILING VESSEL)
- See ‘cog’ and ‘nef’ (also ‘sailing ship’).
Flag and Arms of Elbląg County, Poland (fotw)
- MEMBERED
- The heraldic term used when the legs of a bird are of a different tincture from that of its
body (see also ‘armed 2)’,
‘armed and langued’,
‘attired’,
‘beaked’,
‘langued’ and
‘tincture’).
Flag of
Neuchâtel, Switzerland (fotw);
Arms of Białe Błota, Poland (fotw);
Flag of Doppleschwand, Switzerland (fotw)
- MEMORIAL FLAG
- 1) In largely (but not exclusively) US usage, a small national flag (affixed to a short staff)
which, on specified memorial occasions, is implanted on the graves at military cemeteries – a
grave decoration flag.
- 2) A flag designed to memorialize one or more persons, or to express sympathy for people in a
specific situation. Such flags may or may not be officially recognized, and are sometimes created
by adding symbols or wording to a national or other recognized flag (see also celebratory flag and commerorative flag).
- 3) See ‘commerorative flag’.
POW-MIA Flag, US and Canada (fotw)
9/11 Memorial Flags, US (fotw)
- MENORAH
- A seven-branch candlestick symbolic of Judaism, that is featured on the
national arms and the Presidential Standards of Israel, together with other flags
both past and present (see also
‘Magen David’ and
‘presidential standard’).
Antiquities Authority,
Presidential Standrad and
National Insurance Institute, Israel (fotw)
- MERCHANT ENSIGN
- See ‘civil ensign’ under ‘ensign’.
Merchant/Civil Ensign of India (fotw);
Merchant/Civil Ensign of Singapore (fotw);
Merchant/Civil Ensign of Switzerland (fotw);
- MERCHANT FLAG
- An alternative term, now obsolete, for the civil ensign -see ‘civil
ensign’ under ‘ensign’ (also ‘ensign, the’).
Merchant Flag of Spain 1785 – 1927 (fotw);
Merchant Flag of Lucca 1818 1819 (fotw);
Merchant Flag of Montenegro 1880 - 1918 (fotw)
- MERCHANT JACK
- An alternative term, now obsolete, for the civil jack (see ‘civil
jack’ under ‘jack’).
Merchant Jack of England/UK 1674 1824 (fotw);
Merchant Jack of the Royal Africa Co., England/UK 1672 – 1752 (fotw);
Merchant Jack of the Honourable East India Co, England/UK c1660 1863 (fotw)
- MERCHANT MARK
- In English heraldic usage the term, now obsolete, for the symbol of either identity or profession used by the non-armigerous but see
‘house mark’ (also ‘armigerous’).
(Parker)
- MERCHANT PENNANT (or PENDANT)
- 1. In Belgian usage (although rarely employed), a variant of the naval masthead pennant officially authorized for merchant vessels - see masthead pennant (also
pennant 2)’ and
‘streamer 2)).
2. In Habsburg Imperial usage, now obsolete, a term that may be used for the masthead
pennant when flown from a merchant vessel between 1786 and 1804, and identical to that
flown by contemporary and later warships - see
‘masthead pennant’ (see also
‘pendant)
3. See merchant ship pendant
Merchant Pendant, Belgium (fotw)
-
Merchant Pendant, Habsburg Empire 1786 1806 (fotw)
Please note that in European usage, as far as is known, only Belgium and the Habsburg Empire
have permitted merchant vessels to legally fly a masthead pennant of this type.
- MERCHANT SHIP PENDANT (or PENNANT)
- A term for those masthead pennants, now obsolete, that were flown by Brazilian
merchant vessels in the 19th Century to show in which province they were registered a galhardete
but see ‘registration flags and galhardete 2)’ (also ‘pendant’ and ‘pennant 2)’).
Merchant Ship Pendants: Rio Grande do Sul and
Pernambuco, Brazil (fotw.
- MERIDIAN
- An imaginary line drawn (either vertically or horizontally) through the centre
of a flag – the median - a vertical or horizontal meridian/median.
- MERLETTE
- An alternative heraldic term to martlet - see ‘martlet’.
Flag of East Sussex, UK (fotw)
- MERMAID
- In heraldry and vexillology the term used to describe a charge in the form of a mythological creature that is part female and part fish see ‘heraldic beasts’.
Flag of Iaras, Brazil (fotw);
Flag of Alvarelhos, Portugal (fotw);
Flag of Westerdeichstrich, Germany (fotw)
-
- META-VEXILLOLOGY
- A newly introduced term, and as yet not fully defined, but one that could that be considered
to cover the study of flags from an extended, new or varied perspective (see also ‘vexillology’).
-
- METALS
- In heraldry see ‘or’ and ‘argent’.
Argent and Or
- METEOR FLAG (or ENSIGN)
- In largely (but not exclusively) US usage now obsolete, an alternative term for
the British red ensign – see ‘red ensign 1)’.
British
Red Ensign (fotw)
Please note that there is some doubt as to whether, when first coined (in it is
suggested 1801), the term “British Meteor Flag” referred to the red ensign, or to the
union jack.