[[File:Fanion 22 RMVE verso.JPG|thumb|Fanion of the French 22nd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers]] A '''fanion''' is a small flag used by the French military, equivalent to an American guidon or British company colour. The name derives from the Italian word gonfanone,<ref>James, Charles ''A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary, or, Alphabetical Explanation of Technical Terms'' Printed for T. Egerton at the Military Library, 1802</ref> or gonfanon.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.meaningof.ca/Gonfanon |title=GONFANON Meaning (Definition) |access-date=2012-05-10 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913105105/http://www.meaningof.ca/Gonfanon |archive-date=2012-09-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>p.339 Norris, Herbert ''Medieval Costume and Fashion'' Courier Dover Publications, 28/11/1998</ref> They were often attached to a small staff which was placed in the muzzle of a rifle.
The regulation sizes were 50 cm × 40 cm for a battalion fanion, 40 × 30 for a company fanion, and 34 × 27 for a platoon fanion (the latter can also be a triangular pennant 30 × 40).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://flagspot.net/flags/fr%5Edztir.html|title = Pennants of the Algerian Tirailleurs (French Army)|website=flagspot.net}}</ref>
==See also== *Colours, standards and guidons
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Wiktionary-inline}} * {{Commons category-inline}}
Category:Types of flags Category:French military culture