red ensign
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English
Noun
red ensign (plural red ensigns)
- The flag flown by a British merchant ship.
- 1939 June, G. W. Tripp, “The Modern Railway Steamer”, in Railway Magazine, page 392:
- Both Worthing and Brighton sail under the red ensign and are excellent testimonials to their British builders, William Denny & Brothers, from whose yard so many notable cross-channel and shallow-draught vessels have come.
- (historical, Canada) Such a flag bearing the coat of arms of Canada, formerly used as a semi-official national flag of Canada.
References
- “red ensign”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.