Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small flag or pennant carried as a standard by a military unit.
  • noun A soldier bearing such a flag or pennant.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A small guiding flag or streamer, as that usually borne by each troop of cavalry or mounted battery of artillery, or used to direct the movements of infantry, or to signal with at sea. It is broad at the end next the staff and pointed, rounded, or notched at the other end.
  • noun The officer carrying the guidon.
  • noun The flag of a gild or fraternity.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A small flag or streamer, as that carried by cavalry, which is broad at one end and nearly pointed at the other, or that used to direct the movements of a body of infantry, or to make signals at sea; also, the flag of a guild or fraternity. In the United States service, each company of cavalry has a guidon.
  • noun One who carries a flag.
  • noun One of a community established at Rome, by Charlemagne, to guide pilgrims to the Holy Land.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A small pennant or banner carried by infantry soldiers to direct troop movement.
  • noun A soldier assigned to carry such a banner.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Old French, from Old Italian guidone, from guidare, to guide, from Old Provençal guidar; see guide.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French guidon, from Italian guidone.

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Examples

Comments

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  • from "The Richard Nixon Freischutz Rag" by Guy Davenport

    January 19, 2010

  • one of a Roman community dedicated to guiding pilgrims to the Holy Land

    guid(e)-on

    April 1, 2010