half-mast

thumb|The Flag of Finland|Finnish flag flying at half-mast after the [[2011 Norway attacks]] thumb|The American flag flying at half-mast in Buchenwald concentration camp|Buchenwald, Germany, on 19 April 1945 after the death of US President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] Half-mast or half-staff (American English) is the placement of a flag below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salute.

The tradition of flying the flag at half-mast began in the 17th century. According to some sources, the flag is lowered to make room for an "invisible flag of death" flying above. However, there is disagreement about where on a flagpole a flag should be when it is at half-mast. It is often recommended that a flag at half-mast be lowered only as much as the hoist, or width, of the flag. British flag protocol is that a flag should be flown no less than two-thirds of the way up the flagpole, with at least the height of the flag between the top of the flag and the top of the pole. It is common for the phrase to be taken literally and for a flag to be flown only halfway up a flagpole, although some authorities deprecate that practice.