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flagstaff

flagstaff

16 4.8
A tall pole used for raising a flag
  • noun
  • /ˈflæɡstæf/
translation icon : mástil
  • In 1894, Percival Lowell, an independently wealthy American astronomer, built the eponymous Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Examples

  • Fifteen miles northeast of Flagstaff, a 1,000-foot cone dominates the landscape.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Like the flagstaff on the stern of a battleship.

  • Tom put his hand up to lean against the flagstaff when a furtive tread behind him made him turn.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Behind him is the top of an Army standard, a Flagstaff with an eagle finial, and just above it, in the haze, a faint star.

  • A line of four threadbare trees gesticulated like marionettes behind the flagstaff.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The flag was raised high on the flagstaff, fluttering in the wind.

  • During the ceremony, the veterans stood proudly by the flagstaff as the national anthem played.

  • The flagstaff in the center of the park was newly painted and displayed the town's colors.

Synonyms

flagpole
vsflagstaff
12 1.4

A tall pole used to hold a flag

is the general pole for showing flags, not the specific golf marker
flagstick
vsflagstaff
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A pole with a flag that marks the hole on a golf green

is a general tall display pole, not the small golf hole marker

How Tall

mast
49 4.2
flagstaff
16 4.8
pole
318 1.0

Surface Forms

flagstaff singular
flagstaffs plural

Morphology

flagstaff = flag + staff (transparent) = flag + staff

The meaning is directly the combination of 'flag' + 'staff' meaning a pole for raising/displaying a flag, a straightforward compound.

Etymology

The word flagstaff is simply flag + staff, where staff means a 'stick' or 'pole'. So a flagstaff is literally the 'stick' that holds a flag, which is why it means a tall pole for flying a flag.