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In the event of the death of a current or former President, like the recent death of President Ronald Reagan, the flag should be flown at half-staff for thirty days from the day of the death.
Michael K. Simpson

Meaning of "half-staff" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF HALF-STAFF

half-staff  [ˌhæfˈstæf] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF HALF-STAFF

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Half-Staff is 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.

WHAT DOES HALF-STAFF MEAN IN ENGLISH?

half-staff

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.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH HALF-STAFF


staph
stæf

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE HALF-STAFF

half-second
half-section
half-serious
half-seriously
half-shut
half-silvered
half-sister
half-size
half-sleeve
half-slip
half-smile
half-sole
half-starved
half-step
half-tide
half-timber
half-timbered
half-timbering
half-time
half-title

WORDS THAT END LIKE HALF-STAFF

Chief of Staff
counter staff
distaff
domestic staff
flagstaff
general staff
ground staff
handstaff
headquarters staff
hotel staff
level staff
managerial staff
member of staff
pastoral staff
pikestaff
quarterstaff
skeleton staff
staff
teaching staff
telesales staff
waitstaff

Synonyms and antonyms of half-staff in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «half-staff» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF HALF-STAFF

Find out the translation of half-staff to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of half-staff 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-staff» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

半工作人员
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

media asta
570 millions of speakers

English

half-staff
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

आधा स्टाफ
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

نصف الموظفين
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

наполовину персонал
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

meio-pau
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

অর্ধ-কর্মীদের
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

demi- personnel
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Setengah kakitangan
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Halbmast
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

半旗
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

반 직원
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Setengah staf
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

nửa nhân viên
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

அரைக்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

अर्ध-कर्मचारी
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Yarım personel
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

mezz´asta
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

pół - personel
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

наполовину персонал
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

bernă
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

μισό - προσωπικό
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

half- personeel
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

halv personal
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

halve staben
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of half-staff

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «HALF-STAFF»

The term «half-staff» is regularly used and occupies the 63.554 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
71
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «half-staff» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of half-staff
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «half-staff».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «HALF-STAFF» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «half-staff» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «half-staff» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about half-staff

EXAMPLES

QUOTES WITH «HALF-STAFF»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word half-staff.
1
Michael K. Simpson
In the event of the death of a current or former President, like the recent death of President Ronald Reagan, the flag should be flown at half-staff for thirty days from the day of the death.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «HALF-STAFF»

Discover the use of half-staff in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to half-staff and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Service Etiquette
half- staff” means lowering the flag to one-half the distance between the top and the bottom of the flagpole. When flown at half-staff, the U.S. flag should first be raised to the top for an instant, and then lowered to the half-staff position; before ...
Cherlynn Conetsco, Anna Hart, 2009
2
Manual of Patent Examining Procedure
(m) The flag, when flown at half-staff, should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. On Memorial Day the flag should be ...
‎1995
3
The American Patriot's Almanac: Daily Readings on America
Veterans Day – November 11 Thanksgiving Day – fourth Thursday in November Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (half-staff) – December 7 Christmas Day – December 25 State and local holidays The date your state was admitted to the Union ...
William J. Bennett, 2010
4
Congressional Record, V. 153, PT. 9, May 10, 2007 to May 21, ...
The Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks Federal Flag Code Amendment Act of 2007 would require all Federal Government agencies in a State to comply with a Governor's proclamation to fly the national flag at half-staff in honor of those who lose ...
U S Congress, Congress (U.S.), 2010
5
United States Code, 2006, Supplement 1, January 4, 2007 to ...
On Memorial Day the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff. By order of the President, the flag shall be flown at half- staff upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and  ...
Congress, 2009
6
Congressional Record, V. 147, PT. 18, December 11, 2001 to ...
Currently, under the Flag Code, authority is granted only to the President of the United States or the Governor of any State, territory, or possession to order that the national flag be flown at half staff in recognition of the death of a current or ...
U S Congress, 2006
7
United States Protocol: The Guide to Official Diplomatic ...
Symbol of Mourning • A state or community flag (symbolizing a group united in common association) may be lowered to half-staff by local citizens as a symbol of mourning. Memorial Day • The code prescribes that on Memorial Day the flag be  ...
Ambassador Mary Mel French
8
United States Code 2006: Supplement 2
[See main edition for text of (a) to (I)] (m) The flag, when flown at half-staff, should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day.
Congress, 2010
9
Tampa Bay Magazine
by Margaret Word Burnside When can the U.S. flag be flown at half-mast? J.S., Belleair American flags are flown "half-mast" aboard a ship or on a nautical flag pole, and "half-staff" on land to honor someone who has died. Semantics aside ...
10
Air Force Officer's Guide: 36th Edition
On the death of an officer at a base, the flag flies at half-staff and remains so between reveille and retreat or until completion of the burial service, after which the flag detail hoists it to the top. If the burial service is not at the base, the flag flies at ...
Col. Stephen E. Wright USAF (Ret.), 2014

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

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term half-staff is used in the context of the following news items.
1
City lowers its flags to honor late doctor - Martinsville Bulletin: News
The white City of Martinsville flag at Hooker Field was lowered to half-staff Monday in honor of Dr. William D. "Bill" Lewis Jr., who practiced ... «Martinsville Bulletin, Jul 15»
2
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who led development of the Wii …
On some Internet sites, an image of the flag in the Super Mario game was flying at half-staff. Nintendo America announced it was suspending ... «Richmond.com, Jul 15»
3
Upset with Obama and gay marriage, man flies flag at half-staff
Old Glory flies at half-staff. Hall lowered it after the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in favor of the Affordable Care Act and gay marriage. «Springfield News-Leader, Jul 15»
4
Scranton flags to fly at half staff for fallen officer - The Times-Tribune
BUTCH COMEGYS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER A U.S. flags is at half-staff in front of the Lackawanna County Courthouse in downtown ... «Scranton Times-Tribune, Jul 15»
5
Flags to fly at half-staff in memory of former lieutenant governor
David Ige has ordered that all flags be flown at half-staff at state offices and agencies on Sunday in memory of former Lieutenant Governor and ... «The University of Hawaii Kaleo, Jul 15»
6
State's flag not even at half-staff on list of best banners
Here is some vexing news about the Nebraska state flag. The guy who wrote the book “Good Flag, Bad Flag,” says Nebraska's ranks 50th out of ... «Kearney Hub, Jul 15»
7
Flags lowered Thursday for Senior Chief Petty Officer Jason P. May
Rick Snyder, flags on all campuses of Western Michigan University and throughout Michigan will be lowered to half-staff Thursday, July 9, ... «WMU News, Jul 15»
8
Gov. Snyder orders flags at half-staff in honor of fallen soldier
Rick Snyder has ordered U.S. flags within the state Capitol complex and on all state buildings to be lowered to half-staff on Thursday, July 9, ... «MI News 26, Jul 15»
9
Video: Memorial's Flag Now Permanently Flies Half-Staff, Thanks to …
C.L. "Butch" Otter was only allowed to order Idaho flags flown temporarily at half-staff, usually to honor the passing of a dignitary, veteran or ... «Boise Weekly, Jul 15»
10
Scroggins offers compromise: Keep Confederate flag but fly it at half
But he has an idea for a compromise: “While they're making up their minds about owning people,” keep the flag but lower it to half-staff. «Topeka Capital Journal, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Half-Staff [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/half-staff>. Apr 2024 ».
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