Star-Spangled Banner
7
3.4
- noun
- /ˈstɑrˌspæŋɡəld ˈbænər/
:
Bandera de las Estrellas y las Rayas
- Please rise for The Star-Spangled Banner.
Examples
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In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner" after witnessing American forces defend Fort McHenry from the attack of British troops.
Academic text (2008) -
The nationwide community sing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" will be at 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday, September 14.
Academic text (2010) -
Please rise for The Star-Spangled Banner.
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Then I heard "The Star-Spangled Banner" playing on TV.
Fiction book (1991) -
The band struck up "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Fiction book (1991) -
More than 70 percent of Americans learned "The Star Spangled Banner" in a school music class.
Academic text (2004) -
Don't forget to sing The Star-Spangled Banner before you sit.
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The night's intense bombardment inspired his poem "The Star-Spangled Banner," which became the words of the United States' national anthem.
Blog text (31) -
We grew up waving flags, pledging allegiance, and singing the Star-Spangled Banner.
Blog text (12) -
She's going to become the first opera star ever to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl.
Synonyms
56
1.0
A piece of cloth that stands for the United States with thirteen stripes and fifty stars
41
5.0
A flag used as a symbol for a country, army, or group
9
2.3
The national flag of the United States with stars and horizontal stripes
3
1.3
A piece of cloth that officially represents a country
3
3.7
A common name for the United States flag
Surface Forms
Morphology
Star-Spangled + banner
The phrase is compositionally transparent: 'star-spangled' means decorated or covered with stars and 'banner' means a flag, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer it denotes a flag with stars (and, with minimal cultural knowledge, the U.S. flag). The construction follows regular English compounding patterns and is cross-linguistically straightforward, so the meaning is derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Star-Spangled Banner comes from a line in a poem by Francis Scott Key that described the flag as a banner spangled with bright stars over Fort McHenry after a battle. Because 'spangled' means 'covered with small shiny things', that picture of a star-covered flag explains why the phrase now means the 'national flag' and a 'symbol of pride' for the United States.