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# Dictionary of Vexillology: H (Hooch flag – Hussar Cut)

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Last modified: 2026-05-16 by martin karner
Keywords: vexillological terms |
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- HOOCH FLAG
- HOOKED-CROSS
- HOOVED (or HOOFED)
- HORIZONTAL BICOLOUR
- HORIZONTAL BICOLOUR WITH A VERTICAL STRIPE AT THE HOIST
- HORIZONTAL LATIN CROSS
- HORIZONTAL MERIDIAN (or MEDIAN)
- HORIZONTAL MULTI-STRIPE
- HORIZONTAL STRIPES IN HERALDRY
- HORIZONTAL TRIANGLE
- HORIZONTAL TRIBAND
- HORIZONTAL TRICOLOUR
- HORN
- HORNED
- HORN OF PLENTY
- HORSE-HEAD SHIELD
- HORSESHOE(S)
- HORSETAIL
- HORSETAIL STANDARD
- HOUSE FLAG (or HOUSE PENNANT)
- HOUSE MARK (or HOUSE BRAND)
- HOUSEWIMPEL
- HUMETTY
- HUNTING HORN
- HURT
- HUSBAND PENNANT (or WIMPEL)
- HUSSAR CUT

HOOCH FLAG
  In US military usage (particularly during the Vietnam War) the colloquial term for a small, entirely unofficial, company or unit flag.

HOOKED-CROSS
  See swastika.

  Flag of the National Socialist Front, Sweden

HOOVED (or HOOFED)
  Terms used in Continental European heraldry to describe the hoofs of beasts instead of its English heraldic equivalent unguled.

  Flag of the Mettembert, Switzerland; Flag of Orońsko rural district, Poland; Flag of Rebévelier, Switzerland

HORIZONTAL BICOLOUR
  See bicolour 1) and bicolour 2) (also over).

  Civil Flag of Niederösterreich, Austria; Naval Jack of Ukraine

HORIZONTAL BICOLOUR WITH A VERTICAL STRIPE AT THE HOIST
  A flag of three colours, having one vertical stripe at the hoist and two horizontal in the fly – see tricolour 1) and bicolour 2).

  National Flag of Benin; National Flag of Guinea Bissau

HORIZONTAL LATIN CROSS
  See off-centred cross 2) and scandinavian cross (also latin cross).

  Flag of Domingos Martins, Brazil; Flag of the Aland Islands

HORIZONTAL MERIDIAN (or MEDIAN)
  See meridian.

HORIZONTAL MULTI-STRIPE
  See multi-stripe.

  Flag of Aragon, Spain; Flag of Minorca, Spain

HORIZONTAL STRIPES IN HERALDRY
  See bar, barrulet and fess.

  National Flag of Argentina; Arms of Simferopol, Ukraine; Flag of Chicago, US

HORIZONTAL TRIANGLE
  See triangle 1).

  National Flag of Djibouti; Flag of Cercs, Spain

HORIZONTAL TRIBAND
  See triband 1) and triband 2).

  National and Civil Flags of Nicaragua

HORIZONTAL TRICOLOUR
  See tricolour 1) and tricolour 2).

  National Flag of Croatia; National Flag of the Netherlands

HORN
  1) Concerning a musical instrument in heraldry see bugle horn.
  2) Concerning an animal in heraldry see attire(s).

  Flag of Beeskow County, Oder-Spree, Germany; Flag of Troubky, Czechia; Post Flag, Denmark

HORNED
  In heraldry see attired.

  Flag of Mettembert, Switzerland

HORN OF PLENTY
  See cornucopia.

  Arms and Jack, Peru

HORSE-HEAD SHIELD
  The term sometimes used to describe a shield of the decorative, post-medieval type most often seen in Italian personal and civic heraldry but – an italian shield (see also renaissance shield).

  The Arms of Messina, Italy (Wikimedia)

  Please note that several of the terms giving shields a national identity, as well as those describing a specific type, are still in the process of standardization, and that no consistent approach has thus far been identified.

HORSESHOE(S)
  1) In heraldry a charge that, unless blazoned otherwise should always be shown with its open ends downward – a fer-de-cheval see also blazon).
  2) In vexillology a charge, sometimes undetailed, that has no specific orientation.

  Flag of Hasbergen, Germany; Flag of Kyslivka, Ukraine; Flag of Lemberg, Germany

HORSETAIL
  A decoration for military flags, especially in China where it is usually red; made of real or simulated horsehair and is almost certainly descended from a Mongolian vexilloid (see also tugh 1)).

  Please note that the standards of some former French cavalry units (notably the Spahis originally raised in North Africa) were also decorated by horsetails – see toug.

HORSETAIL STANDARD
  See tugh 1) and toug.

  Turkish Horsetail Standards, c. 1650–1700 (worldimages.sjsu.edu)

HOUSE FLAG (or HOUSE PENNANT)
  1) The distinguishing flag or pennant of a merchant marine company flown at sea by ships owned or managed by that company, and from their headquarters on shore – a shipping or shipping company house flag or pennant (see also flags and funnels, logo, pennant 2)) and whaling flags.
  2) See corporate flag.
  3) The personal flag of the owner of a pleasure vessel or home – a private signal (see also personal flag 2)).
  4) See battle flag 2).

  Black Diamond Co., Canada; Green and Co., US; Alaska Steamship Co., US

HOUSE MARK (or HOUSE BRAND)
  In Continental usage those terms, and translations of the German hausmarken or housmarke, that may be used to describe the symbol or symbols used by non-armigerous tradesmen in place of a coat of arms – a house brand – but see merchant mark (see also armigerous, coat of arms 2) and mark 2)).

  Flag of Hiddensee Island, Germany

HOUSEWIMPEL
  See house flag 1).

  Housewimpel/House Pennant of The Blue Star Line, UK

  Please note that the correct term in English language vexillology is house pennant – see wimpel and following note.

HUMETTY
  A heraldic term sometimes used in place of couped, particularly (but not exclusively) to describe a cross or saltire – see cross humetty and couped 2).

  Flag of Kippel, Switzerland; Flag of Beira Grande, Portugal; Flag of Attiswil, Switzerland

HUNTING HORN
  In heraldry see bugle horn.

  Arms and Flag of Bilje, Croatia

HURT
  The heraldic term for a blue disc – a roundel azure (see also bezant, fountain 1), golpe, ogress, plates, roundel 3) and torteau).

  Flag of Lenzburg, Switzerland; Flag of Bodenfelde, Germany; Flag of Richenthal, Switzerland

  Please note that in strict English heraldic usage this term should only be applied when the charge described in blue (“azure”) – see tinctures.

HUSBAND PENNANT (or WIMPEL)
  In Scandinavian (particularly Finnish) usage the colloquial term, and a direct translation of the Finnish “isännänviiri” or Swedish “husbondsvimpel”, used for a provincial wimpel (see also wimpel).

  Husband Pennant/Provincial Wimpel of Kainuu, Finland

HUSSAR CUT
  A variation of the swallow-tail in which the cut in the fly of the flag is shaped by several curves, and was formerly typical of the flags used by Prussian later German cavalry regiments (see also descate, palm, guidon 2), indentation(s), rounded swallow-tail and swallow-tail(ed)).

  2nd Hussar Regiment, Prussia c1740; Cavalry Guidons, Hamburg 1709

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