A tall pole or staff used to hold and display a flag.
Compound word from 'flag' (Middle English, possibly from Scandinavian 'flakka' meaning to flutter) and 'staff' (Old English 'stæf' meaning stick or pole). The combination literally describes the stick that holds a flag.
A flagstaff does the invisible work that makes flags visible—it's structural rather than decorative, yet flags would just be sad fabric on the ground without it, making staffs the unsung heroes of patriotic display.
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