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.
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            Hang out our banners on the outward walls. --Shak.
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   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.
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   3. Any flag or standard; as, the star-spangled banner.
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   Banner fish (Zool.), 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.
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