lieutenant
See also: Lieutenant
English
Alternative forms
- leftenant, leftenaunt, lieftenant, lieftenaunt, lieutenaunt (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle French lieutenant, from lieu (“place”) + tenant (“holding”).
Pronunciation
- (UK, General Australian, General New Zealand) IPA(key): /lɛfˈtɛnənt/, /ləˈtɛnənt/
- (UK)
(file)
- (UK)
Audio (AU) (file) - (US) IPA(key): /l(j)uˈtɛnənt/
- (US)
(file)
- (US)
- (Canada) IPA(key): /l(j)uˈtɛnənt/, /lɛfˈtɛnənt/[1]
- (India) IPA(key): /ˈlɛftɛnənt/
(file) - Rhymes: -ɛnənt
Noun
lieutenant (plural lieutenants)
- (military) The lowest commissioned officer rank or ranks in many military forces.
- (military, US) In the US Army, Air Force and Marines, second lieutenant is the rank below first lieutenant, which is below captain. Both ranks may be referred to as Lieutenant or as the complete forms of the ranks.
- (military, US, navy) A naval officer whose rank is above that of ensign in the United States Navy and below that of a lieutenant commander. There are two ranks of lieutenant: lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant.
- (military, US) A commissioned officer in the United States Coast Guard, Public Health Service, or National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration whose rank is above that of ensign and below lieutenant commander. There are two ranks of lieutenant: lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant.
- (military, Britain) A naval officer in the Royal Navy who holds the rank above sub-lieutenant and below lieutenant commander.
- (military, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) A naval officer who holds the rank above sub-lieutenant and below lieutenant commander.
- A person who executes the plans and directives of another.
- The second-in-command of a group.
Usage notes
When used as a title, it is always capitalized.
- Example: Lieutenant Anne Ward.
The rank of lieutenant corresponds to pay grade O-3 in the US Navy, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, and National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration.
Derived terms
- bevret lieutenant
- captain lieutenant
- desk lieutenant
- fifth lieutenant
- first lieutenant
- flag lieutenant
- fourth lieutenant
- junior lieutenant
- lieutenant admiral
- lieutenant captain
- lieutenant colonel
- lieutenant commander
- lieutenant general
- lieutenant junior grade
- lieutenant marshal
- lieutenant senior grade
- second lieutenant
- senior lieutenant
- shift lieutenant
- staff lieutenant
- sublieutenant
- third lieutenant
Translations
lowest commissioned officer rank
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person who executes the plans and directives of another
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the second-in-command of a group
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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See also
Adjective
lieutenant (not comparable)
- A military grade that is junior to the grade the adjective modifies: lieutenant colonel, lieutenant general, lieutenant commander.
Translations
References
- Only 14 to 19% of 14-year-olds used the traditional pronunciation IPA(key): /lɛfˈtɛnənt/ in a survey in 1972, and they are meanwhile (at the beginning of 2017) at least 57 years old: How do you pronounce Lieutenant Governor?, Toronto Star; July 6, 2014
- Lieutenant, World Wide Words
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ljøt.nɑ̃/
Audio (FR) (file) Audio (file)
Further reading
- “lieutenant” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Middle French
Noun
lieutenant m (plural lieutenants)
- lieutenant (person who executes the plans and directives of another)
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