- Flagophobe is derogatory term. It is a compounding of flag and -phobe. There is a metaphorical connection between the flag and national pride in this word. The implication of this word is that one who is afraid of the flag is not patriotic. The addition of the suffix “phobe” implies that the party to whom the term is referring to afraid of the flag, or of their country. There is a metaphorical connection between fear of the flag and being unpatriotic. This term is used particularly in an attempt to label a person as unpatriotic. Such personal attacks are often not justified, and only used to turn others against that person, or to attempt of strip them of their credibility. It is used in informal political exchanges. One would not hear the word in any formal debate or speech, but in informal political arguments. Use of such a term is popular among conservatives, in an attempt to label liberals as unpatriotic.
flagophobe
noun; compounding
one who is not patriotic
Etymology : Flagophobe is a compounding of flag and –phobe. Flag is of unknown origin. It is probably from the Old Norse word flakka meaning ‘to flicker, flutter’, and through various changes came to mean a cloth that flutters in the wind, and then more specifically to the flag that represents a nation. -Phobe is a suffix meaning ‘fearing’. It came from French –phobe, from Latin –phobus, from Greek –phobos meaning ‘fearing’, which is from the Greek word phobos meaning ‘fear’.
Source : “Your candidate kills babies and is a flagophobe!” –Friend, November 2008
Last modified: 5 December 2008