'standard-bearer' originates from English as a compound of 'standard' and 'bearer': 'standard' (from Old French 'estandart', later French 'étendard') where 'standard' meant 'flag', and 'bearer' from Old English 'berere' (from the verb 'beran') meaning 'one who carries'.

'standard' changed from Old French 'estandart' into Middle English forms such as 'standarde', and 'bearer' developed from Old English 'berere' (from 'beran'); these elements combined in Middle English (e.g. forms like 'standarde-bere') and eventually became the modern English compound 'standard-bearer'.

Initially it meant 'a person who carries a flag (especially in battle)', but over time it evolved figuratively to mean 'a principal representative or leading advocate of a cause or movement.'