starspangled

Star-spangled is an English compound adjective meaning decorated with stars or displaying a starry pattern. The conventional form in formal writing is star-spangled, though some modern usages and branding drop the hyphen, yielding starspangled. The root spangle denotes a small, bright ornament, and spangled indicates being adorned with such ornaments. The term is widely used to describe anything featuring stars on a surface, from fabrics and flags to design motifs.

In American usage the term is most closely associated with the flag and the national anthem. It appears in Francis Scott Key’s 1814 poem Defence of Fort M’Henry, which described a flag that, despite bombardment during the War of 1812, continued to wave over Fort McHenry: the star-spangled banner. At the time the flag carried 15 stars and 15 stripes. In 1931 the poem was officially designated as the national anthem of the United States, commonly known as The Star-Spangled Banner, reinforcing the association of star-spangled with patriotic imagery.

Beyond this historical context, star-spangled is used in contemporary writing to evoke American patriotism or to describe festive, star-themed imagery, including banners, decorations, and events. It also appears in titles and branding. The term remains primarily a descriptive adjective and a cultural reference rather than a technical term.