A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium. The first flags were used to assist military coordination on battlefields, and flags have since evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is similarly challenging (such as the maritime environment where semaphore is used). National flags are potent patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original and ongoing military uses. Flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for other decorative purposes. The study of flags is known as vexillology, from the Latin vexillum meaning flag or banner.
A flag is usually a symbol, signaling device, or decoration made from various types of fabrics. Flags are usually rectangular in shape but they can also be square or triangular. The first flags in the world were primarily used as signaling devices during wartime to coordinate military efforts in a battlefield. And it has since evolved into symbols for countries, states, schools, branches of the military, and virtually any organized group that calls for cohesion. It is virtually impossible to calculate the number of different flags in the world and there is a field dedicated to the study of flags called Vexillology which originated in the 1950′s.