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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Banner fish

Banner \Ban"ner\ (b[a^]n"n[~e]r), n. [OE. banere, OF. baniere, F. banni[`e]re, bandi[`e]re, fr. LL. baneria, banderia, fr. bandum banner, fr. OHG. bant band, strip of cloth; cf. bindan to bind, Goth. bandwa, bandwo, a sign. See Band, n.]

  1. A kind of flag attached to a spear or pike by a crosspiece, and used by a chief as his standard in battle.

    Hang out our banners on the outward walls.
    --Shak.

  2. A large piece of silk or other cloth, with a device or motto, extended on a crosspiece, and borne in a procession, or suspended in some conspicuous place.

  3. Any flag or standard; as, the star-spangled banner.

    Banner fish (Zo["o]l.), a large fish of the genus Histiophorus, of the Swordfish family, having a broad bannerlike dorsal fin; the sailfish. One species ( Histiophorus Americanus) inhabits the North Atlantic.