flag signal
- noun
- Specialized
:
señal de bandera
- During the naval exercise, the admiral instructed his fleet to use flag signals for all communications.
Examples
-
The military strategists devised flag signals to coordinate troop movements without alerting the enemy.
-
He quickly developed an interest in the Union flag-signal system, and he studied it intensely.
Blog text (34) -
The sailors communicated with each other using flag signals to relay their positions.
Synonyms
670
2.1
A gesture or sound that tells someone to act
1
3.8
A message shown by lights, signs or gestures to give people information
1
3.8
A rectangular piece of cloth ships use to send short messages
A flag you wave to send messages to people far away
A flag sailors use to send messages between ships at sea
A flag used to send messages between ships
How Complex
- Specialized
1
8.6
- Specialized
- Specialized
670
2.1
140
2.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a method of sending messages by displaying or moving flags' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'flag' (a piece of cloth) + 'signal' (a cue or gesture). This noun–noun combination follows a common pattern (a signal made with a flag) and is cross-linguistically transparent (e.g., semaphore equivalents), so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Flag signal comes from the simple image of a bright flag shown or waved to make a signal so people far away could 'receive a message'. That's why a flag signal means a message sent by showing or moving flags.