March 30, 1999

vexillology

"Vexillology"--consider this for submission? I know it concerns a way to describe the different parts of flags, but I was wondering what the word's derivation was.

The word vexillology has an abnormally large number of fans. Perhaps it's just because the word sounds good, or perhaps it's because the word describes something considered interesting in a semi-intellectual way.

Vexillology is the study of flags, in all their aspects. A person who studies flags in known as a vexillologist, though vexillographer has also been used; sometimes it applies to designers or manufacturers of flags as well. The corresponding adjective is the tongue-twisting vexillological. While not terribly common in mainstream use, the word gets around. When the death of the Princess of Wales brought some renewed interest into the display of royal insignia, the publisher of a flag magazine was quoted in Time as saying, "Any vexillologist would be happy to make calls on a flagpole near you."

This group of words is derived from the Latin vexillum 'a flag or banner carried by Roman troops' and the familiar suffix -ology 'the study of (that named in the intial element)'. The Latin word is a derivative of the verb vehere 'to carry'.

A notable fact about vexillology is the word's relative newness. While English has been saturated with the vocabulary of heraldry for decades, with unbelievably obscure terms still appearing in crossword puzzles and the like, the word vexillology dates only from the 1950s. (Some similar words derived from the Latin, are earlier, such as vexillator 'a person who carries a banner in a mystery play'.)