Meaning of "half-mast" in the English dictionary

PRONUNCIATION OF HALF-MAST

half-mast

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF HALF-MAST

Half-Mast is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb half-mast in English.

WHAT DOES HALF-MAST MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Half-mast

Half-mast is flying a flag below the summit of the flagpole. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, or distress. In the US, the official term for non-nautical use is half-staff, but half-mast is also commonly used. The tradition of flying the flag at half-mast began in the 17th century. According to some sources, the flag is lowered to make room for an "invisible flag of death" flying above. When hoisting a flag that is to be displayed at half-mast, it should be hoisted to the finial for an instant, then lowered to half-mast. Likewise when it is lowered at the end of the day, it is to be hoisted to the finial for an instant, and then lowered.

Definition of half-mast in the English dictionary

The definition of half-mast in the dictionary is the lower than normal position to which a flag is lowered on a mast as a sign of mourning or distress. Other definition of half-mast is to put in this position.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO HALF-MAST

PRESENT

Present

I half-mast

you half-mast

he/she/it half-masts

we half-mast

you half-mast

they half-mast

Present continuous

I am half-masting

you are half-masting

he/she/it is half-masting

we are half-masting

you are half-masting

they are half-masting

Present perfect

I have half-masted

you have half-masted

he/she/it has half-masted

we have half-masted

you have half-masted

they have half-masted

Present perfect continuous

I have been half-masting

you have been half-masting

he/she/it has been half-masting

we have been half-masting

you have been half-masting

they have been half-masting

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I half-masted

you half-masted

he/she/it half-masted

we half-masted

you half-masted

they half-masted

Past continuous

I was half-masting

you were half-masting

he/she/it was half-masting

we were half-masting

you were half-masting

they were half-masting

Past perfect

I had half-masted

you had half-masted

he/she/it had half-masted

we had half-masted

you had half-masted

they had half-masted

Past perfect continuous

I had been half-masting

you had been half-masting

he/she/it had been half-masting

we had been half-masting

you had been half-masting

they had been half-masting

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will half-mast

you will half-mast

he/she/it will half-mast

we will half-mast

you will half-mast

they will half-mast

Future continuous

I will be half-masting

you will be half-masting

he/she/it will be half-masting

we will be half-masting

you will be half-masting

they will be half-masting

Future perfect

I will have half-masted

you will have half-masted

he/she/it will have half-masted

we will have half-masted

you will have half-masted

they will have half-masted

Future perfect continuous

I will have been half-masting

you will have been half-masting

he/she/it will have been half-masting

we will have been half-masting

you will have been half-masting

they will have been half-masting

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would half-mast

you would half-mast

he/she/it would half-mast

we would half-mast

you would half-mast

they would half-mast

Conditional continuous

I would be half-masting

you would be half-masting

he/she/it would be half-masting

we would be half-masting

you would be half-masting

they would be half-masting

Conditional perfect

I would have half-mast

you would have half-mast

he/she/it would have half-mast

we would have half-mast

you would have half-mast

they would have half-mast

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been half-masting

you would have been half-masting

he/she/it would have been half-masting

we would have been half-masting

you would have been half-masting

they would have been half-masting

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you half-mast
we let´s half-mast
you half-mast

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to half-mast

Past participle

half-masted

Present Participle

half-masting

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

TRANSLATION OF HALF-MAST

Find out the translation of half-mast to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of half-mast from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «half-mast» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 下半旗
• Translator English - Spanish: media asta
• English: half-mast
• Translator English - Hindi: आधा मस्तूल
• Translator English - Arabic: نصف الصاري
• Translator English - Russian: приспущены
• Translator English - Portuguese: meia-haste
• Translator English - Bengali: অর্ধেক মাস্তুল
• Translator English - French: berne
• Translator English - Malay: Separuh tiang
• Translator English - German: halbmast
• Translator English - Japanese: ハーフマスト
• Translator English - Korean: 반기
• Translator English - Javanese: Setengah mast
• Translator English - Vietnamese: rủ
• Translator English - Tamil: அரை மாஸ்ட்
• Translator English - Marathi: अर्ध्या मास्ट
• Translator English - Turkish: yarım direk
• Translator English - Italian: a mezz´asta
• Translator English - Polish: połowy masztu
• Translator English - Ukrainian: приспущені
• Translator English - Romanian: bernă
• Translator English - Greek: μεσίστιες
• Translator English - Afrikaans: half- mas
• Translator English - Swedish: halv stång
• Translator English - Norwegian: halv stang

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «HALF-MAST»

Discover the use of half-mast in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to half-mast and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

A Flag at Half-mast: A Personal Account of the Attack on America

Jude Patch Guglielmino is a disaster relief worker who lives in Healdsburg, California. This book is a story of one month of her work at Ground Zero as a family service technician.

J. Patch Guglielmino, 2006

The Bluejackets' Manual

If the ensign is not already flying (for example, word is received during the night), morning colors will be held as normal except that after the ensign is hoisted all the way to the peak (top of the mast or jackstaff), it is then lowered to the half-mast  ...

Thomas J. Cutler, 2002

Technical Analysis and Stock Market Profits:

This particular Half-mast Congestion bears a slight optical resemblance to, but cannot be strictly defined as, a Triangle; it is, however, a very compact congestion with no semblance of ''give'' to it. If we were not already ''long'' of Western Union ...

R. Schabacker, 2005

Seamanship: Fundamentals for the Deck Officer

Whenever the ensign is to be half-masted, it first is closed up and then is lowered to the half-mast position. The same procedure is used when lowering the ensign from half-mast; it first must be closed up and then lowered. 2. On Memorial Day ...

David O. Dodge, Stephen E. Kyriss, 1981

Garner's Modern American Usage

On the plural halves, see plurals (c). half-staff; half-mast. As a memorial, most flags on land fly at half-staff. Strictly speaking, they fly at half-mast only on ships and at naval stations. (That's because only there does a flag hang from the part of a ...

Bryan Garner, 2009

Fishermen's Memorial and Record Book

The losses while engaged in trawl fishing as well as the cases of drowning from the vessels, are among the saddest incidents connected with the business, and the coming into the harbor of a vessel with her flag floating at half-mast, is an ...

George H. Procter, 2005

Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Council During the ...

With Copies of the Various Documents Ordered by the Council to be Printed Victoria. Parliament. Legislative Council. The second quarter, a blue flag at the mast head. The third quarter, a red flag half mast high. The last quarter, a red flag at ...

Victoria. Parliament. Legislative Council, 1854

Year Book Australia No. 67, 1983

(In Western Australia this is observed in October) 24 October — United Nations Day (see below) I I November — Remembrance Day (flags should be flown at the peak from 8 a.m. to 10.30 a.m., at half-mast from 10.30 a.m. till 1 1.03 a.m. and at  ...

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Minutes of the Proceedings of the Legislative Council ... ...

The third quarter, a. red flag half mast high. The last quarter, a red flag at the mast head. "I - Ebb Tide. The first quarter, a blue flag half mast high, with a ball underneath. The second quarter, a blue flag at the mast head, with a. ball underneath.

Victoria. Legislative Council, 1854

An Introduction to Visual Culture

While flags all over Great Britain, and indeed the world, were flown at half-mast in memory of Diana, the royal palaces continued to observe the absurdities of their imagined protocols. Despite having used the Royal Standard in Diana's ...

Nicholas Mirzoeff, 1999

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «HALF-MAST»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term half-mast is used in the context of the following news items.

Dent County, Missouri Will Lower Flags to Half-Mast to Mourn Gay …

Those flags, on the Dent County Courthouse and Judicial Building, will be lowered below half-mast on the 26th of each month until June 2016, ... «Riverfront Times, Jul 15»

Dent County Commission to fly flags at half-mast in protest of gay …

Flags will fly below half-mast at the Dent County Courthouse for one year, a symbolic act of mourning approved by the Dent County ... «Three Rivers Publishing, Jul 15»

Australia Asks UN to Set Up Criminal Tribunal to Probe MH17 Crash

The Australian flag will be flown at half-mast on all government buildings as a mark of respect. Story First Published: July 14, 2015 16:08 IST. «NDTV, Jul 15»

Flags flown at half mast across UK ahead of minute's silence to mark …

The flags at Buckingham Palace and Number 10 were lowered to half-mast on Friday in memory of the victims of the shooting attack on a ... «Telegraph.co.uk, Jul 15»

Palace flags at half mast in tribute to Tunisia victims

The flags at Buckingham Palace and the residence of the British prime minister were lowered to half-mast on Friday in memory of the victims of the shooting ... «Daily Mail, Jul 15»

News story: UK flags to be flown at half-mast for Tunisia victims

As a mark of respect for those that died in Tunisia last week, the Prime Minister has asked that all government departments, military bases and ... «Military Technologies, Jul 15»

Flags at half-mast on Caerphilly Castle in tribute to victims of …

Flags were flown at half-mast on Caerphilly Castle yesterday in tribute to the 38 victims of the Tunisian beach shooting. Among the victims was ... «Caerphilly Observer, Jul 15»

Flags half-mast after Tunisia tragedy

The flag outside Enfield council's civic centre, in Silver Street, Enfield, will sit at half-mast following the deaths on the African coast where it is ... «Enfield Independent, Jul 15»

Flags at half-mast for terror victims

Union Jack flags were flown at half-mast on government buildings throughout Cayman Monday in memory of British victims of Friday's terror ... «Cayman Compass, Jun 15»

Flags to fly at half-mast for Tamworth Tunisia victims

Flags at Marmion House and Tamworth Castle are also being flown at half-mast as a mark of respect for all those killed in Friday's shooting. «Tamworth Herald, Jun 15»