banner

Etymology 1

From Middle English baner, from Old French baniere (Modern bannière), of Germanic origin. More at band.

noun

1. A flag or standard used by a military commander, monarch or nation.
   “To hold Arrakis,” the Duke said, “one is faced with decisions that may cost one his self-respect.” He pointed out the window to the Atreides green and black banner hanging limply from a staff at the edge of the landing field. "That honorable banner could come to mean many evil things." 1965, Frank Herbert, Dune (Science Fiction), New York: Ace Books, →OCLC, page 112
2. (by extension) The military unit under such a flag or standard.
3. (by extension) A military or administrative subdivision.
4. Any large sign, especially when made of soft material or fabric.
   The mayor hung a banner across Main Street to commemorate the town's 100th anniversary.
5. A large piece of cloth with a slogan, motto, or emblem carried in a demonstration or other procession or suspended in some conspicuous place.
6. (by extension, figurative) A cause or purpose; a campaign or movement.
   They usually make their case under the banner of environmentalism.
7. (journalism) The title of a newspaper as printed on its front page; the nameplate; masthead.
8. (Internet, television) A type of advertisement on a web page or on television, usually taking the form of a graphic or animation above or alongside the content.
9. (heraldry) The principal standard of a knight.
10. A type of administrative division in Inner Mongolia and Tuva, made during the Qing dynasty; at that time, Outer Mongolia and part of Xinjiang were also divided into banners.
    Hanggin Rear Banner, Bayannur, Inner Mongolia, China

adj

1. Exceptional; very good.
   The year just closed has been the banner year for New-Hampshire Home Missions. The amount raised for the cause is $505,38 more than ever was raised before in any one year. 1853, New-Hampshire Missionary Society, “Annual Report of the Trustees of the New Hampshire Missionary Society, Volumes 50-57”, in Annual Report of the Trustees of the New Hampshire Missionary Society, volume 53, Steam power press of McFarland & Jenks, page 16
   The Zenger decision was a banner achievement for freedom of the press. It pointed the way to the kind of open public discussion required by the diverse society that colonial New York already was and that all America was to become. 2016, David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, Mel Piehl, The Brief American Pageant: A History of the Republic, page 73

verb

1. (transitive) To adorn with a banner.
2. (transitive, journalism) To display as a banner headline.
   At 8:11, bannering the headline “Cheney in Charge?” the Drudge Report runs a story speculating that the president may be incapacitated. 2008, Howard Rosenberg, Charles S. Feldman, No Time To Think

Etymology 2

ban + -er

noun

1. One who bans something.
   How ridiculous the banners of some of the books at present on the list will appear in the future. 1963, The Australian Library Journal, volumes 1-14, page 69