Editing Vexilloid (section)

{{Short description|Flag-like object that represents an entity}}
[[File:Roman Standards.jpg|thumb|An illustration of eleven Imperial Roman vexilloids.]]
A '''vexilloid''' is any flag-like (vexillary) object used by countries, organisations, or individuals as a form of representation other than [[flag]]s. American [[vexillologist]] [[Whitney Smith]] coined the term ''vexilloid'' in 1958, defining it as

{{quote|An object which functions as a flag but differs from it in some respect, usually appearance. Vexilloids are characteristic of traditional societies and often consist of a [[flag#Flagpoles|staff]] with an emblem, such as a carved animal, at the top.}}

This includes [[vexillum|vexilla]], [[banderole]]s, [[pennon]]s, streamers, [[heraldic flag|heraldic flags]], standards, and [[gonfalon]]s.<ref>{{citation | url = http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/xf-vxid.html | title = Vexilloids | publisher = Flags of the World |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404102423/https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/xf-vxid.html |archive-date= Apr 4, 2023 }}.</ref> Examples include the [[Sassanid]] battle standard [[Derafsh Kaviani]], and the standards of the [[Roman legion|Roman legions]] such as the [[Aquila (Roman)|eagle]] of [[Augustus Caesar]]'s [[Legio X Fretensis|Xth legion]] and the [[Draconarius|dragon standard]] of the [[Sarmatians]]; the latter was allowed to fly freely in the wind, carried by a horseman, but depictions suggest that it bore more similarity to an elongated [[dragon kite]] than to a simple flag.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:Weksyloidy.jpg|thumb|An illustration of several types of Vexilloid]]
The use of flags replaced the use of vexilloids for general purposes during late [[medieval]] times between about 1100 to about 1400. However, vexilloids still remain in use for specialised purposes, such as for some [[military units]] or to symbolise various organisations such as [[fraternal organisation]] in street parades.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/flagsthroughages00smit|title=Flags through the ages and across the world|last=Smith|first=Whitney|date=1975|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=9780070590939|location=New York|oclc=1324552|url-access=registration}}</ref>