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# Dictionary of Vexillology: B (Beach Flag – Belfry)

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Last modified: 2026-05-02 by martin karner
Keywords: vexillological terms |
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- BEACH (SAFETY or WARNING) FLAG (or PENNANT)
- BEACH QUALITY FLAG
- BEAKED
- BEAM
- BEAM CROSS
- BEAMED
- BEARING
- BEAUFORT
- BECKET
- BED SHEET FLAG (or BSF)
- BEEF FLAG
- BEEF PENNANT
- BEJEWELLED
- BELAYING PIN
- BELFRY (or BELL TOWER)

BEACH (SAFETY or WARNING) FLAG (or PENNANT)
  A flag or pennant from one of several different systems for signalling the condition of a beach, the state of the ocean or weather at that particular point, and/or to what degree bathing safety precautions are in place – a bathing or surfing flag/pennant, a weather or weather-warning flag/pennant, a shark alert or alarm flag/pennant, a wind, windsurf or windsurfing danger flag/pennant or similar – but see blue flag (also red flag 1) and storm warning flag).

  Some Beach Flags and Pennants, Spain, The Netherlands and France

BEACH QUALITY FLAG
  See blue flag

  Beach Quality/Blue Flag, European

BEAKED
  The heraldic term which may be used when the beak of a bird or a bird-like creature is of a different tincture than the body (see also armed 2), attired, comb(ed), gorged, jelloped, langued, membered).

  Flag of Asperen, The Netherlands; Flag of Filisur, Switzerland; Flag of Krukow, Germany

BEAM
  1) An expanding stripe which usually – but not exclusively – expand from a central point in order to represent a shaft (or shafts) of light – rays – but see radiating 1).
  2) The term may also be used to describe a horizontal arm such as those seen on an anchor, cross or yard (see also anchor, cross 1)).
  3) A term sometimes incorrectly used to describe a stripe (or stripes) in place of the heraldic equivalents – see bar, bend, fess, pale.

  Flag of the Air Force, Turkmenistan; Flag of P’ing-tung, Taiwan; Standard of Gaspésie, Quebec, Canada

BEAM CROSS
  An accurate but seldom used translation (Balken meaning a “balk”, “bar” or “beam” of wood) of the German term Balkenkreuz.

BEAMED
  A term sometimes incorrectly used in place of pointed (see also rays 1)).

  Flag of Mississippi 1861, CS

BEARING
  See charge and charged.

BEAUFORT
  An early 18th century alternative term, now obsolete, for bunting – see bunting 1) (also bewper and breadth 2)).

BECKET
  A loop at the end of the hoist line of a flag that fastens to a toggle at the end of the halyard when hoisting a flag – a running eye – but see eye splice (also halyard, hoistline, running eye and toggle, toggle).

BED SHEET FLAG (or BSF)
  See logo on a bed sheet.

  Flag of the State of Idaho, US

BEEF FLAG
  A flag (of unknown configuration) that was flown by supply vessels carrying foodstuffs to the British Royal Navy during the 18th and 19th centuries (see also bullock pennant).

BEEF PENNANT
  See bullock pennant (also beef flag).

BEJEWELLED
  In heraldry see gemmed.

  Arms and Flag of Tagilde, Portugal

BELAYING PIN
  An increasingly obsolete method of securing the halyard by means of movable vertical pins (fitted into a frame or rack at the foot of the mast) and now largely replaced by the cleat – a tack pin or jack pin.

  (Wikipedia)

BELFRY (or BELL TOWER)
  In continental European heraldry the image of a church tower, steeple or other structure which houses a bell or bells.

  Flag of Igreja Nova e Cheleiros, Portugal; Flag of Popovača, Croatia; Flag of Ponta do Sol, Portugal

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