ban·ner (băńər)

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[Middle English banere, from Old French baniere, from Vulgar Latin* bandāria, from Late Latin bandum, of Germanic origin.]

noun 

1. 1. A piece of cloth attached to a staff and used as a standard by a monarch, military commander, or knight.
   2. The flag of a nation, state, or army.
2. A piece of cloth bearing a motto or legend, as of a club.
3. A headline spanning the width of a newspaper page.
4. Botany See standard

adjective 

Unusually good; outstanding: a banner year for the company.

transitive verb: -nered, -ner·ing, -ners. 

To give a banner headline to (a story or item) in a newspaper.

stan·dard (stăńdərd)

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[Middle English, from Old French estandard, rallying place, probably from Frankish* standhard, * standan, to stand, + * hard, fast, hard.]

noun 

1. A flag, banner, or ensign, especially:
   1. The ensign of a chief of state, nation, or city.
   2. A long, tapering flag bearing heraldic devices distinctive of a person or corporation.
   3. An emblem or flag of an army, raised on a pole to indicate the rallying point in battle.
   4. The colors of a mounted or motorized military unit.
2. 1. An acknowledged measure of comparison for quantitative or qualitative value; a criterion.
   2. An object that under specified conditions defines, represents, or records the magnitude of a unit.
3. The set proportion by weight of gold or silver to alloy metal prescribed for use in coinage.
4. The commodity or commodities used to back a monetary system.
5. Something, such as a practice or a product, that is widely recognized or employed, especially because of its excellence.
6. 1. A degree or level of requirement, excellence, or attainment.
   2. A requirement of moral conduct. Often used in the plural.
7. Chiefly British A grade level in elementary schools.
8. A pedestal, stand, or base.
9. Botany
   1. The large upper petal of the flower of a pea or related plant.
   2. One of the narrow upright petals of an iris. Also called banner, vexillum
10. A shrub or small tree that through grafting or training has a single stem of limited height with a crown of leaves and flowers at its apex.
11. Music A composition that is continually used in repertoires.

adjective 

1. Serving as or conforming to a standard of measurement or value.
2. Widely recognized or employed as a model of authority or excellence: a standard reference work.
3. Acceptable but of less than top quality: a standard grade of beef.
4. Normal, familiar, or usual: the standard excuse.
5. Commonly used or supplied: standard car equipment.
6. Linguistics Conforming to established educated usage in speech or writing.

derivatives

stańdard·ly

adverb

synonyms:

standard, benchmark, criterion, gauge, measure, touchstone, yardstick These nouns denote a point of reference against which individuals are compared and evaluated: a book that is a standard of literary excellence; a painting that is a benchmark of quality; criteria for hiring an excellent teacher; behavior that is a gauge of self-control; donations from the public, a measure of the importance of the arts; the program's success, a touchstone of cooperation in the community; farm failures, a yardstick of federal banking policy.

See also: ideal