Banner \Ban"ner\, n. [OE. banere, OF. baniere, F. banni[`e]re, bandi[`e]re, fr. LL. baniera, 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 (H. Americanus) inhabits the North Atlantic.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)