standard, standerd, standert

& a. [O. Fr. est and art, from O. H. Ger. stand an to stand (q. v.); O. Dut. standaert a standard; M. H. German stand hart; German standarte; Spanish estandarte; French étendard; Ital. sten dardo.] A. As substantive : I. Ordinary Lan guage : 1. A flag or ensign round which men rally, or under which they unite for a common purpose; a flag or carved symbolical figure, ., erected on a long pole or staff, serving as a rallying-point or the like. The ancient military standard consisted of a symbol carried on a pole like the Roman eagle, which may be considered as their national standard. Each cohort had its own standard, by which it was known, and which was surmounted with a figure of Victory, an open hand, ., the pole being decorated with circular medal lions, crescents, . The Labarum was the peculiar standard adopted by Const an tine. [LABARUM.] In med iæval times the standard was not square, like Roman Standards. 1. The most ancient form; a handful of hay or fern fixed to the top of a spear; hence, the company was called Man i pulus. 2. Later ensign of Maniple, called Numina legio num. 3. Ensign of Maniple of still later date;; the eagle, wolf, minotaur, horse, and bear were used as emblems. 4. In the second consulship of Marius (B. c. 104), he adopted the eagle only 5. The ball, emblematic of dominion. 6. The bronze figure of Victory. 7. A square cloth attached to a pole, bearing the letters S. P. Q. R. (Senatus Populusque Roman us the Senate and peo ple of Rome, i . e., the State, the Republic); 5, 6, or 7 was sometimes substituted for the eagle under the later emperors. 8. Standard of a cohort; each cohort had its own device emblazoned on a square piece of cloth attached to a cro bar, and elevated on a gilt staff. 9. Vexillum or standard of the Cavalry. the banner, but elongated, like the guidon and pennon, but much larger, becoming narrow and rounded at the end, which was slit, unle the standard belonged to a prince of the blood-royal. The size of the standard was regulated by the rank of the person whose arms it bore: that of an emperor was 11 yards long; of a king, 9 yards; of a prince, 7 yards; a marquis, 6% yards; an earl, 6 yards; a viscount or baron, 5 yards; a knight-banneret, 4% yards; and a baronet, 4 yards. It was generally divided into three portions-one containing the arms of the knight, then came his cognizance or badge, and then his crest; these being divided by bands, on which was inscribed his war-cry or motto, the whole being fringed with his livery or family colors. Cavalry standards are properly banners, of a small size. The corresponding flags used by infantry regiments are called colors. "Knights bannerets are made in the fielde, with the ceremonie of cutting of the point of his standert , & making it as it were a banner." -Smith : Commonwealth, bk. i., ch. xviii. 2. That which is capable of satisfying certain defined conditions fixed by the proper authorities; especially that which is established by the competent authority as a rule or measure of quantity; the original weight or measure sanctioned by government, and deposited in some public place, to be used in regulating, adjusting, and trying weights and measures used in traffic. [MEASURE, WEIGHT.] "It is therefore nece ary to have recourse to some visible, palpable, material standard ; by forming a comparison with which, all weights and measures may be reduced to one uniform size: and the prerogative of fixing this standard our ancient law vested in the crown." Black stone: Comment ., bk. i., ch. 7. infantry regiments is 5 ft. 5in. 3. A supporter. "The old standers and profe ors of the sect."-Berk. eley: Alciphron, ii. § 37. *II. Church Hist . (pl.): A cla of penitents in the early Church, when public penance was practiced. When the other penitents, energumens, and catechumens had been dismi ed, the standers were allowed to remain and join in the prayers and witEucharist. Called also Bystanders, Cost and ers, and, in ecclesiastical Latin, Cons is ten tes. the oblation, but could not partake of the