general

en-noun

general (countable and uncountable, plural generals)

From Middle English general, in turn from Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French general, and their source, Latin generālis, from genus (“class, kind”) + -ālis (“-al”); thus morphologically parallel with, and a doublet of, generic.

general of the air force
general of the air force

(military) The holder of a senior military title, originally designating the commander of an army and now a specific rank falling under field marshal (in the British army) and below general of the army or general of the air force in the US army and air forces.


AB

AB (countable and uncountable, plural ABs)

In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires— A.B. means an able-bodied seaman […]

Section 2(1), Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) Ordinance (Cap. 478)

Initialism of able seaman; able-bodied seaman.


major

From Middle English major, from Latin maior, comparative of magnus (“great, large; noble, important”), from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs (“greater”), comparative of *meǵh₂- (“great”). Compare West Frisian majoar (“major”), Dutch majoor (“major”), French majeur. Doublet of mayor.

pääaineopiskelija

student specializing in a specified subject

He used to be a major in the army.

(military) A rank of officer in the army and the US air force, between captain and lieutenant colonel.

Meronyms: drum major, trumpet major

An officer in charge of a section of band instruments, used with a modifier.


corporal

From French caporal, probably influenced by corporal (above), from the Italian caporale, from capo (“head, leader”) from Latin caput (“head”).

(military) A non-commissioned officer army rank with NATO code OR-4. The rank below a sergeant but above a lance corporal and private.


admiral

→ Cebuano: admiral

desctree

→ German: Admiral
→ Czech: admirál
Hungarian: admirális
→ Polish: admirał
→ Slovene: admirȃl
→ Ukrainian: адміра́л (admirál)

Swahili: admirali

→ Tagalog: ádmirál

Amir_al-umara#In_Norman_Sicily
Chester Nimitz
Eighth Crusade
Florent de Varennes
George of Antioch
Gervase Alard
Horatio Nelson
Louis IX
Nelson's Column
Norman Sicily
admiral
admiral of France

From Middle English admiral etc., from Anglo-Norman and Old French admiral etc., from Medieval Latin admiralis, admirallus, and admiralius, from irregular modification of amiralis etc. under the influence of the prefix ad- and particularly admiror (“to admire, respect”), from Arabic أَمِير (ʔamīr, “commander”) + -alis (“-al”). The ending is frequently but mistakenly folk etymologized to derive from the article ال (al-), particularly in Arabic أَمِير اَلبَحْر (ʔamīr al-baḥr, “commander of the sea”), first attested as a Fatimid office, or in Arabic أَمِير الْمُؤْمِنِين (ʔamīr al-muʔminīn, “Commander of the Believers, caliph”). It seems instead to have been borrowed from modification of only the first term in Arabic أَمِير الْأُمَرَاء (ʔamīr al-ʔumarāʔ, “emir of emirs, commander-in-chief”) as used as a title for important commanders in Norman Sicily in the mid-12th century. First attested as an English rank in reference to Gervase Alard of Winchelsea as "admiral of the fleet of the Cinque Ports". Doublet of emir, amir, Amir, and amira.
Etymology tree
Medieval Latin admiralisder.
Anglo-Norman admiralbor.
Middle English admiral
English admiral

cog

أَمِير اَلبَحْر

أَمِير الْمُؤْمِنِين

der

أَمِير الْأُمَرَاء

etymon

The commander of a fishing or merchant fleet, particularly (historical, Canada) a captain granted special privileges in exchange for bringing the first ship of a given fishing season to certain harbors in Newfoundland.


commodore

→ Italian: commodoro

→ Portuguese: comodoro

→ Spanish: comodoro

Borrowed from Dutch kommandeur, from Middle French commandeur. See command, compare commend (a doublet), and mandate.

rear admiral (lower half)
rear admiral (lower half)

(US, military, nautical) A rear admiral (lower half).


lieutenant commander

en-noun

lieutenant commander (plural lieutenant commanders)

A naval officer whose rank is higher than a lieutenant and below that of a commander.


private

en-adj

private (comparative more private, superlative most private)

more private (comparative)
most private (superlative)

→ Punjabi: ਪ੍ਰਾਈਵੇਟ (prāīveṭ)

→ Welsh: preifat

From Latin prīvātus (“bereaved, deprived, set apart from, release”), perfect passive participle of prīvō (“I bereave, deprive, release”), from prīvus (“private, one's own, peculiar”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per; compare prime, prior, pristine. Doublet of privy.

der

Of a room in a medical facility, not shared with another patient.

(philosophy) Of the mind or language, not in principle experienceable, knowable, or understandable by others.


private

In the cities and towns of California, privates are pressuring county governments to close or reduce in size their hospitals and to pay private hospitals for the care of low-income patients. Thus everything is stacked against public hospitals.

1973, Health/PAC Bulletin, numbers 48-67, page 2:

Because you are already moving people with the limitations of what we did in 1982 on the capping of Medicare, you are finding out that the privates are picking up that slack, […]

1993, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs, The implementation of employer sanctions: Hearings:

A doctor working in privately rather than publicly funded health care.

And what haue Kings, that Priuates haue not too,[…]

1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 85, column 1:

(obsolete) One not invested with a public office.


ensign

From Middle English ensigne, from Old French enseigne, from Latin īnsignia, nominative plural of īnsigne, meaning marked, distinguished. Doublet of insignia.

coronet

cavalry equivalent of the infantry ensign

first NATO commissioned officer grade above OF-0 trainee officer

The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter X, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

lieutenant junior grade
lieutenant junior grade

The lowest grade of commissioned officer in the United States Navy, junior to a lieutenant junior grade.


commander

From Middle English comaundour, commaunder, comaunder, borrowed from Old French comandeor, cumandeur, from comander. See command.

A rank within an honorary order: e.g. Commander of the Legion of Honour.


lieutenant

→ Irish: leifteanant

→ Malay: leftenan

→ Swahili: luteni

From Middle English lieutenant, lieftenaunt, from Anglo-Norman lieutenant, lyutenaunt, leu tenant, leu tenaunt (“deputy, lieutenant”), from Old French lieu (“place”) + tenant (“holder”). Doublet of locum tenens.

commissioned officer
commissioned officer

lieutenant commander
lieutenant commander

(military) The lowest junior commissioned officer rank(s) in many military forces, often Army and Marines.

(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.

пору́чик

in imperial Russian army (1730–1917), armies of White movement, and in armies of other Slavic nations

по́ру́чник

in certain Slavic armies—a non-dictionary form in limited use instead of поручик to more precisely reproduce local terminology


captain

Sranan Tongo: kapten

→ Arabic: كبتن (kabtin)

→ Burmese: ကက်ပတိန် (kakpa.tin)

→ Hijazi Arabic: كبتن (kabtin)

→ Hindi: कप्तान (kaptān)

→ Japanese: キャプテン (kyaputen)

→ Korean: 캡틴 (kaeptin)

→ Maori: kāpene

→ Swahili: kapteni

→ Urdu: کپتان (kaptān)

From Middle English capitain, capteyn, from Old French capitaine, from Late Latin capitāneus, from Latin caput (“head”) (English cap). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-.
Doublet of chieftain, also from Old French.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps

Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

A commissioned officer in the United States Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA Corps, or PHS Corps of a grade superior to a commander and junior to a rear admiral (lower half). A captain is equal in grade or rank to a United States Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force colonel.

capità

a naval officer with a rank between commander and commodore or rear admiral


His Majesty

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-His Majesty.wav

(informal, sarcastic) A sarcastic way of referring to any male who is (or is acting) pompous or bossy.


Her Majesty

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Her Majesty.wav

(informal, sarcastic) A sarcastic way of referring to any female who is (or appears) pompous or bossy.


Your Majesty

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Your Majesty.wav

I have heard that Your Majesty wishes to have the great burial on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month and that the court has sent its commissioner to supervise the tomb work. I do not know if a site has yet been chosen. Some say that there are plans to search widely outside of Yung-an county [where the previous Sung imperial tombs were located] for an auspicious site. In my ignorance, I consider this to be a mistake.

1991 [1063 CE], Patricia Buckley Ebrey, quoting Ssu-ma Kuang, “Comabting Heterodoxy and Vulgarity in Weddings and Funerals”, in Confucianism and Family Rituals in Imperial China: A Social History of Writing about Rites, Princeton University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 72:

(formal) A term of address used in direct address to a monarch of higher rank than a prince, such as a king, queen, emperor, or empress.

(informal, sarcastic) A sarcastic term of address to anyone who is (or is acting) pompous or bossy.


Your Majesty

All our service,
 In every point twice done and then double done,
 Were poor and single business to contend
 Against whose honors deep and broad wherewith
 Your Majesty loads our house.

c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi]:

“Sire,” said Villefort, “the rapidity of the event must prove to your majesty that God alone can prevent it, by raising a tempest; what your majesty is pleased to attribute to me as profound perspicacity is simply owing to chance; and I have profited by that chance, like a good and devoted servant—that's all. Do not attribute to me more than I deserve, sire, that your majesty may never have occasion to recall the first opinion you have been pleased to form of me.”

c. 1845, Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte-Cristo, page 59:

(formal) you (in direct address to such a monarch)


dominus

Borrowed from Latin dominus (“master”). Doublet of dan, dom, domine, dominie, and don.

doublet

The vesper bell had rung its parting note; the domini were mostly caged in comfortable quarters, discussing the merits of old port; and the merry student had closed his oak, to consecrate the night to friendship, sack, and claret.

January 1848, The New Sporting Magazine, volume 15, page 23:

master; sir; a title of respect formerly applied to a knight or clergyman, and sometimes to the lord of a manor or an academic master


quartermaster

/ˈkwɔːtɚˌmɑːstə/

From Middle English quartermayster, quartermaistre, equivalent to quarter + master. Perhaps reinforced by and merged with Dutch kwartiermeester, kwartier-meester. Compare German Quartiermeister, French quartier-maître.

(military) An officer whose duty is to provide quarters, provisions, storage, clothing, fuel, stationery, and transportation for a regiment or other body of troops, and superintend the supplies. Master of quartering.


jarl

From Old Norse jarl, from Proto-Norse ᛖᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉ (erilaʀ). Cognates include Old English eorl. Doublet of earl.

(historical) A medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark.


professor

→ Chickasaw: pofessa'

→ Fijian: parofesa

→ Hawaiian: polopeka

→ Hindi: प्रोफ़ेसर (profesar)

→ Malay: profesor

→ Niuean: palōfesa

→ Samoan: polofesa

→ Swahili: profesa

→ Tok Pisin: profesa

→ Tongan: palofesa

→ Urdu: پروفیسر (profesar)

Derived from Anglo-Norman proffessur, from Latin professor (“declarer, person who claims knowledge”), from the past participle stem of profiteor (“profess”).

der

Professor is what you become after teaching for twenty to thirty years.

2014 November 22, Michel Clasquin-Johnson, “What is the difference between a research professor and a professor”, in Quora:

The most senior rank for an academic at a university or similar institution.

(US, Philippines, informal) A teacher or faculty member at a college or university regardless of formal rank.

professor

higher ranking for a teacher or faculty member at a college or university

dosent

teacher or faculty member at a college or university, regardless of formal rank

As for Religion, I have not said, much lesse meant irreverently of it, or of the Professors thereof.

1660, William Petty, Reflections upon some Persons and Things in Ireland, p. 170/1:

This period in which Abraham the Jew lived was one in which Magic was almost universally believed in, and in which its Professors were held in honour;

1897, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (transl.) The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Introduction, p. v

(archaic) One who professes something, such as a religious doctrine.

The puppeteer who performs a Punch and Judy show; a Punchman.


sub-lieutenant

(military, navy) A commissioned officer of the navy whose rank is immediately below that of a lieutenant.

(UK) A commissioned officer of the Royal Navy ranking above a midshipman and below a lieutenant.


maestro

Borrowed from Italian maestro, from Latin magister (“master”). Doublet of magister, master, and meister.


Mary

→ Cantonese: Mary

→ Cebuano: Mary, Marie

→ Danish: Mary

→ Faroese: Marý

→ Hawaiian: Mele, Mere

→ Japanese: マリー (Marī)

desc

→ Mandarin: 瑪麗／玛丽 (Mǎlì), 瑪莉／玛莉 (Mǎlì), 瑪利／玛利 (Mǎlì)

→ Manx: Mayree

→ Maori: Mere, Meri

→ Norwegian: Mary

→ Scottish Gaelic: Màiri

→ Swedish: Mary

→ Tahitian: Mere

→ Tok Pisin: meri

→ Thai: แมรี (mɛɛ-rii)

From Middle English Marie, from Old French Marie, from Latin Maria, from Ancient Greek Μαρία (María), Μαριάμ (Mariám), from Aramaic מַרְיָם (maryām) or Biblical Hebrew מִרְיָם (miryām), of uncertain meaning (see the Hebrew entry for more). Doublet of Miriam, Marie, and Maria.

Maria

Mary, mother of Jesus — see also Madonna, Mother of God, Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, Saint Mary, Theotokos, Virgin Mary
Note: Translations for Mary's various titles and appellations should go in the respective entries.

(Ireland, dated) A male middle name, given in honour of the Virgin Mary.

Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary


seaman

From Middle English seeman, seman, from Old English sǣmann. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Seemon (“seaman, sailor”), West Frisian seeman (“seaman, sailor”), Dutch zeeman (“seaman, sailor”), German Low German Seemann (“seaman, sailor”), German Seemann (“seaman, sailor”), Swedish sjöman (“seaman, sailor”), Norwegian sjømann (“seaman, sailor”). Equivalent to sea + -man.

cog

petty officer third class
petty officer third class

(US, Navy) An enlisted rate in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking below petty officer third class and above seaman apprentice.


Sgt

(abbreviation) A title added before the name of a sergeant.


fuzzy

Uncertain. Apparently from fuzz + -y, though some sources suggest that fuzz derives from fuzzy. Compare fozy, or Low German fussig (“loose; spongy”).

A "fuzzy" on the other hand is a "people person," — someone who prefers studying the humanities or social sciences, someone who sees the world in broad contextual terms.

2010, Donald Barr, Questioning the Premedical Paradigm […] , Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 2:

If you majored in the humanities or social sciences, you were a fuzzy, and if you majored in engineering or computer science, you were a techie.

2017, Scott Hartley, The Fuzzy and the Techie […] , Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN:

(slang) A person, especially a college student, interested in humanities or social sciences, as opposed to one interested in mathematics, science, or engineering.


adjutant

From Latin adiūtō, frequentative of adiuvō (“assist”). First attested in 17th century. Or from Latin adiuvāns, present participle of adiuvō, from iuvō (“help”).

(military) A lower-ranking officer who assists a higher-ranking officer with administrative affairs.


sepoy

→ Dutch: sepoy, sipoy

→ Indonesian: sepoy

→ German: Sepoy

→ Italian: sepoy

→ Swedish: sepoy

→ Finnish: sepoy

→ Turkish: sepoy

From Portuguese sipae, from Urdu سِپاہی (sipāhī) / Hindi सिपाही (sipāhī), from Classical Persian سِپَاهِی (sipāhī, “soldier, horseman”), from سِپَاه (sipāh, “army”). Doublet of spahi.

der

If our door were in the hands of the Sepoys the place must fall, and the women and children be treated as they were in Cawnpore.

1890 February, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Strange Story of Jonathan Small”, in The Sign of Four (Standard Library), London: Spencer Blackett […], →OCLC, page 238:

They proved to be the wives of a body of sepoys, also from the 5th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry; the sepoys had perished, and their families been enslaved, when their pattamar had been captured by the Qawasim some months before.

1997, Charles E. Davies, The Blood-red Arab Flag: An Investigation Into Qasimi Piracy, 1797-1820, University of Exeter Press, →ISBN, page 312:

(historical, military) A native soldier of the East Indies, employed in the service of a European colonial power, notably the British India army (first under the British-chartered East India Company, later in the crown colony), but also France and Portugal.


Frau

Coordinate term: Herr

G. von Hoffmann’s Die Ochsenmenuette offered Frau von Berckel as Therese, Scherer as Istock, Lotti as Eduard, and Frauen Schmidt and Esden, and Graff, Lehmann and Kress in minor rôles.

1970, George C[linton] D[ensmore] Odell, Annals of the New York Stage, New York, N.Y.: AMS Press, page 169:

His gifts as an impassioned speaker had brought him to the notice of some wealthy society ladies (Frauen Bechstein, Hofmann and Wagner), who lionised him and tolerated his cranky behaviour as that of a budding genius.

2002, Margaret Cook, “The Military Celibate”, in Lords of Creation: The Demented World of Men in Power, London: Robson Books, →ISBN, page 101:

There was more than a little rivalry between the two ladies, Frauen Wagner and Bechstein, when it came to offering Wolf accommodation, though Winnie could see that while she was so busy with the Festival it made sense for Wolf to stay with the Bechsteins and come round to Wahnfried for visits.

2007, A[ndrew] N[orman] Wilson, Winnie and Wolf, London: Hutchinson, →ISBN, page 54:

We met our landlords-to-be, Frau and Herr Friedrich, themselves émigrés from the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia.

2015, Joel M. Levin, Our Beguine: The Dance of Life, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN:

(slightly dated) Used as a courtesy title before the surname of a (typically married) German-speaking woman.


Herr

An unincorporated community in Perry Township, Boone County, Indiana, United States.


second lieutenant

en-noun

second lieutenant (plural second lieutenants)

The lowest rank of a commissioned officer in the United States Army, United States Air Force, or United States Marine Corps, below a first lieutenant. The rank of second lieutenant is equivalent to the naval rank of ensign.

ensign

traditional infantry lowest commission officer rank

coronet

traditional cavalry lowest commission officer rank


lieutenant general

lieutenant general (plural lieutenant generals or lieutenants general)

lieutenant generals (plural)
lieutenants general (plural)

A commissioned officer in the British Army or Royal Marines or the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, or United States Air Force, ranked above a major general and below a general.

գեներալ-լեյտենանտ

an officer above major general and below general


title

⇒ Wu: 抬頭／抬头 (⁶de-deu)

→ Japanese: タイトル (taitoru)

→ Korean: 타이틀 (taiteul)

→ Welsh: teitl

From Middle English title, titel, from Old English titul (“title, heading, superscription”), from Latin titulus (“title, inscription”). Doublet of tilde, titer/titre, titlo, tittle, and titulus.

doublet

Our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death
With his former title greet Macbeth.

c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.

1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

An appellation given to a person or family to signify either veneration, official position, social rank, the possession of assets or properties, or a professional or academic qualification. See also :Category:Titles


sergeant

From Middle English sergeant, sergeaunt, serjent, serjaunt, serjawnt, sergant, from Old French sergeant, sergent, serjant, sergient, sergant (“sergeant, servant”), from Medieval Latin servientem, accusative of serviens (“a servant, vassal, soldier, apparitor”), from Latin serviēns (“serving”), present participle of serviō (“serve, be a slave to”). Doublet of servant and servient.
The shift from /vj/ > /dʒ/ was a regular development in Old French. Compare cavea > cage, salvia > sage.
The fish is so called because of its stripes, supposed to resemble a sergeant's insignia of rank.
The pronunciation with /ɑɹ/ is due to a widespread development of Middle English er + consonant (see barn, start etc.). In sergeant, the spelling was standardised in one way, the pronunciation in another (compare clerk, derby in Commonwealth English, further parson vs. person, and varsity vs. university).

(military) A UK army rank with NATO code OR-6, senior to corporal and junior to warrant officer ranks.


warrant officer

en-noun

warrant officer (plural warrant officers)

The bailiff does not like to see himself as the brutal oppressor of the poor or as the agent of malicious creditors... This distinction between warrant officer and process server is not at all dissimilar to the gulf that divides the law officer and the peace officer in the police force... Warrant officers execute warrants whilst process servers distribute court summonses and cajole debtors.

1973, Paul Rock, Making People Pay, page 162:

(law enforcement) An officer assigned to execute warrants and other writs.


Darth

From the Star Wars universe, where it is used as a title for Sith Lords. (There are Darth Vader, Darth Tyranus, Darth Maul etc.) Blend of dark + death (the derivation from Dark Lord of the Sith is a later development).

Consider the threat of an evil hacker, Darth, who can not only eavesdrop on your network connection but also alter the messages that are sent.

2000, David G. Messerschmitt, Understanding Networked Applications: A First Course (textbook), Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, page 400

[…] glaring malevolently across his desk at me in the manner that had earned him the nickname “Darth” among his elite cadre of audio penetration officers.

2000, Antonio J. Mendez, Malcolm McConnell, The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA, HarperCollins, published 2000, →ISBN, page 186:

The evil Darth Leonard steals the formula and a young couple must get it back (real life Ward Leonard is a legendary recluse who has hiked the Appalachian Trail something like 20-30 times).

2005, John Illig, Pacific Dream: A Pacific Crest Trail Through-Hike, Elderberry Press, →ISBN, page 74:

I’m sure Darth Hoodie has some other illegal way of messing with inexperienced quarterbacks on the road.

2015 November 27, Jimmy Kempski quoted in "Patriots-Broncos prediction roundup" in Boston Globe

(humorous) Used as a title or name for an evil person.


petty officer

A non-commissioned officer in the Canadian, US and UK Navy and the US Coast Guard; roughly equivalent to a sergeant in the army


vice admiral

(nautical) A person holding a naval rank between rear admiral and full admiral.


colonel

First attested 1548, from Middle French coronnel, from Old Italian colonnello (“the officer of a small company of soldiers (column) that marched at the head of a regiment”), from compagnia colonnella (“little column company”), from Latin columna (“pillar”), originally a collateral form of columen, contraction culmen (“a pillar, top, crown, summit”), o-grade form from a Proto-Indo-European *kelH- (“to rise, be elevated, be prominent”). See hill, holm.

der

The colonel and his sponsor made a queer contrast: Greystone long and stringy, with a face that seemed as if a cold wind was eternally playing on it. […] But there was not a more lascivious reprobate and gourmand in all London than this same Greystone.

1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

A commissioned officer in an armed military organization, typically the highest rank before flag officer ranks (generals). It is generally found in armies, air forces or naval infantry (marines).

kolonel

commissioned office in the armed services


marshal

→ Malay: marsyal

From Middle English marschal, from Anglo-Norman mareschal (“farrier; military commander”), from Medieval Latin mariscalcus (“groom, army commander, court dignitary”), either from Frankish *marhaskalk, or Old High German marah-scalc (“horse-servant”), from Proto-West Germanic *marh + *skalk (whence Old Saxon maraskalk, marahscalc). Compare English mare + shalk.

Where stands Marshal Chiang Kai-shek in this conflict of opinion concerning the tactics which China should adopt towards the aggressor? Chiang Kai-shek, according to officials who know his mind with whom I have talked, is all for resistance- as soon as he thinks he can win!

1936, H. Hessell Tiltman, The Far East Comes Nearer, Jarrolds, page 249:

A military officer of the highest rank in several countries, including France and the former Soviet Union; equivalent to a general of the army in the United States. See also field marshal.


signora

I waited, half thinking that they would walk toward me on the waters, until the spell was broken by a knock upon my door. "Would the signoras of their good pleasure like to behold the dance of the tarantella?"

1896, Louise Chandler Moulton, Lazy tours in Spain and elsewhere:

Mrs; madam; title of address or respect for women in Italy.


quinquagenarian

/ˌkwɪŋkwəd͡ʒəˈnɛɹiən/

/ˌkwɪŋkwəd͡ʒɪˈnɛəɹɪən/

From Latin quinquāgēnārius (“containing 50”) + -an, either directly or via French quinquagénaire, from Latin quīnquāgēnus (“50 each”) + -ārius (“-ary”), from quīnquāgintā (“five tens, fifty”). Cognate with quinquagenary.

(obsolete, rare) Synonym of pentecoster: an officer who commands 50 men.

Synonym of fiftysomething: a person between 50 and 59 years old.


quinquagenarian

/ˌkwɪŋkwəd͡ʒəˈnɛɹiən/

/ˌkwɪŋkwəd͡ʒɪˈnɛəɹɪən/

(obsolete, rare) Of or related to command over 50 men.


specialist

en-adj

specialist (comparative more specialist, superlative most specialist)

more specialist (comparative)
most specialist (superlative)

Borrowed from French spécialiste, equivalent to special + -ist.

This was a highly specialist job, and it has been very carefully carried out so that it is very hard to see that these windows are now modern replacements.

2021 December 15, Robin Leleux, “Awards honour the best restoration projects: Special Award: Signal Box Restoration”, in RAIL, number 946, page 57:

(British) Specialised, involving detailed knowledge of a restricted topic.


specialist

Someone who is an expert in, or devoted to, some specific branch of study or research.

(US, military) Any of several non-commissioned ranks corresponding to that of corporal.


cosmocrat

From cosmo- (“world, universe”) + -crat (“ruler”), originally (in the plural) seemingly in reference to demonic powers in Ephesians 6:12; later used as a variant of cosmocrator, translating Ancient Greek κοσμοκράτωρ (kosmokrátōr) in various ancient texts.

confix

(sometimes capitalized) an epithet for God or Satan.

кня́зь ми́ра сего́ m (knjázʹ míra sevó, literally “the knyaz (king) of this world”)


Almighty

From Middle English þe Almyȝty, þe Almihtiȝ, from Old English sē Ælmihtiġa (literally “the Almighty (One)”). More at almighty.

der

The Almighty has smiled on us and blessed with good fortune.


Baron

* As a French, English, Jewish, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Czech, German, Spanish (Barón), Romanian, Serbo-Croatian, and Breton surname, all from the noun baron. Compare Barron, Lebaron.
* Also as a French surname, from several places in France Le Baron.
* As an Italian (Veneto) surname, variant of Barone.
* Also as a Czech surname (Baroň), from a pet form of Bartoloměj.
* As an Irish surname, Anglicized from Ó Bearáin; see Barnes.
* General Slavic surname: Anglicization of Polish Baran (“Aries”), Ukrainian Баран (Baran), etc.


Amen

Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament

To the angel of the church of Laodicea, write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.

1973, New Testament (New International Version), Revelation 3:14

(biblical) Jesus, Son of God, as the authority.


Daddy

Jenny's voice broke. “Daddy told me that she and Joey, my baby brother, were killed when I was two.”

2008, Betty Wagner Loeb, Jenny's Family Circle, page 26:


Dad

Dad told me to go out and mow the lawn.


Excellence

A title of honor or respect; more common in the form Excellency.


Duke

en-proper noun

Duke (countable and uncountable, plural Dukes)

A township in Harnett County, North Carolina, United States.


Earl

Las Animas County
Las Animas County#English

A number of places in the United States:

An unincorporated community in Las Animas County, Colorado.

An unincorporated community in Callaway County, Missouri.

Cleveland County
Cleveland County#English

A town in Cleveland County, North Carolina.

An unincorporated community in Springbrook, Washburn County, Wisconsin.


Fr.

Abbreviation of Father, a title given to priests.


General

The ambulance is taking him to General.
Owerri West General Hospital or Owerri North? Obinze is still in charge of West General. If it's that one, turn it around now.

General Hospital
general hospital#English

(informal, medicine) Short for General Hospital.


King

King (countable and uncountable, plural Kings)

→ Japanese: キング (Kingu)

A city in Stokes County and Forsyth County, North Carolina.

An unincorporated community in Wetzel County, West Virginia.

census-designated place
census-designated place

A census-designated place in Farmington, Waupaca County, Wisconsin.


Madame

The Queen welcomed President and Madame De Gaulle.

Soong Mei-ling is often known as Madame Chiang Kai-Shek.

A title equivalent to Mrs. or Ms., used for French-speaking women and (by custom) certain other individuals. It is abbreviated as Mme..


Mommy

I wish Mommy and Daddy didn't argue so much.

(Canada, US, chiefly used by young children) One's mother


Mistress

The sound of Mistress Affery cautiously chaining the door before she opened it, caused them both to look that way.

1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, “The Dreams of Mrs. Flintwinch Thicken”, in Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC, book the second (Riches), page 408:

(archaic) Used as the title of a married woman before her name. Now used only in the abbreviated form Mrs.


Mme

With them were the two royal children, Mmes Tantes (the elderly daughters of Louis XV), Mme Elisabeth, the Comic de Provence and his wife.

1922, Paul Gruyer, A Week at Versailles: The Town, the Palace, the Park, the Trianon Palaces, page 71:

In The Bernadinis’ Terrace, gracefully translated by Joanna Kilmartin, Mme Laure Bernardini and her companion, Mme Thérèse, are very old: ‘immobilised, like ships that have run aground, they exist minimally.’

1975 August 7, Listener and BBC Television Review, page 190, column 1:

After the latter’s death, Meyerson remained Mme Bernard-Lazare’s trusted friend.

1978, Nelly Wilson, Bernard-Lazare: Antisemitism and the Problems of Jewish Identity in Late Nineteenth-Century France, Cambridge University Press, published 2010, →ISBN, page 318:

Mr. Parker added more wood to the fire and then he and Mme Dubois went in, leaving Miss Merrie behind with her wide-brimmed sun hat. Mme DuBois and Mr. Parker were the first to return and soon had their heads together checking the food hamper and cooler.

2014, George J. Pappas, Where the Tides Meet: A Romance of the Gaspé, FriesenPress, →ISBN, page 162:


Missus

(informal) Mrs, a form of address for a married woman.


Mrs.

en-noun

Mrs. (plural Mmes. or Mesdames or (rare) Mrses.)

Mmes. (plural)
Mesdames (plural)
Mrses. (plural rare)


Misses

Perhaps we are disposed to smile at seeing so much made of titles; but after what we have learned of Lord Timothy Dexter and the high-sounding names appropriated by many of our own compatriots, who have no more claim to them than we plain Misters and Misseses, we may feel to them something as our late friend Mr. Appleton felt to the real green turtle soup set before him, when he said that it was almost as good as mock.

1890, O[liver] W[endell] Holmes [Sr.], “The tea is sweeneted”, in Over the Teacups, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, […], pages 274–275:

Eye dialect spelling of Mrs; alternative spelling of Missus.


Mum

I wish Mum and Dad didn't argue so much.


Master

...and our Lord as Master, Father, and Sage.

2002, A. J. Drew, Wicca for Couples: Making Magick Together, page 89

In respect to our Lord (God), these are the less known Master, Father, and Sage.

2003, A. J. Drew, Patricia Telesco, God/Goddess: Exploring and Celebrating the Two Sides of Wiccan Deity, page 38:

Master of the Seasons of the Year, I call upon you and ask you to be here with me in this, my ritual.

2009, Debbe Tompkins, Witch School: Living the Wiccan Life, page 18

(Wicca) One of the triune gods of the Horned God in Wicca alongside the Father and Sage and representing a boy or a young man


Mother

A title given to the personification of a force of nature or abstract concept, such as Mother Nature, Mother Russia, or Mother Earth.


Mom

I wish Mom and Dad didn't argue so much.


Prime Minister

Alternative letter-case form of prime minister


Pharaoh

And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 14:18:


Professor

The title for someone who holds the job of professor.


Poppy

"It is a very pretty name, Mma. I should like to be called Poppy."
The compliment drew a smile. "I used to be very embarrassed about it," said Poppy. "I used to try to hide my name from people. I thought it was a very silly name."
Mma Ramotswe shook her head. There was nothing embarrassing about the name Poppy, but there was no telling what names people would find embarrassing.

2006, Alexander McCall Smith, Blue Shoes and Happiness, →ISBN:

(chiefly UK) A female given name from English, a flower name used since the end of the 19th century.


Poppy

My grandfather, whom we all call "Poppy", loves children and enjoys imparting his knowledge of aspects to them.
...
Cell phones were not invented at the time, however, so I could not contact Poppy to help me end the hiccups.

2008 April 29, Steven Keslowitz, From Poland to Brooklyn, page 120:

(as a term of address) Alternative form of poppy (“father, grandfather, or other male authority figure of a similar standing”)

poppy

(informal) Former U.S. president George H. W. Bush


Mar

From Classical Syriac ܡܪܝ (mār(ī)), the first-person singular possessive form of ܡܪܐ (mārā, “lord, master”).

A title of respect in Syriac, given to all saints and also used before the Christian names of bishops.


Rabbi

The title of a rabbi (a Jewish scholar or teacher); used before or instead of the rabbi's name.


Pope

From pope; also used in Ireland/Scotland as a surname meaning "papa, father."

A number of places in the United States:

An unincorporated community in Marengo County, Alabama.


Mr.

Mr. John Doe

Mr. Doe

(US, Canada) Abbreviation of mister. A title used before the surname in theory, though not generally in practice, above some undefined social level, too old to be addressed as “Master”, not a knight or of some higher rank, and, in Britain though not in the United States, not entitled to be addressed as “Dr.”.


Senator

The legislation, sponsored by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Lee, and Murphy, required the president to withdraw all forces from Yemen (except those participating in antiterrorism operations against AQAP) within 30 days of enactment.

2021, Kelly A. McHugh, “President vs. Congress: U.S. Intervention in the Yemeni Civil War”, in Ralph G. Carter, editor, Contemporary Cases in U.S. Foreign Policy: From National Security to Human Security, 6th edition, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, part II (Policymaking Actors and Influencers), page 135:

The title for someone who is elected to be a senator.


Father

(Wicca) One of the triune gods of the Horned God in Wicca, representing a man, younger than the elderly Sage and older than the boyish Master.


Prince

en-proper noun

Prince (countable and uncountable, plural Princes)

A township in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada.


Saint

the Kirtland Saints

They settled in Kaw Township, a dozen miles from Independence, becoming the first Saints to be resettled in the newly designated Zion.

2011, Terryl L. Givens, Matthew J. Grow, Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism, →ISBN, page 53:

The project’s goal was to “fortify the faith of the Saints,” he said, “while at the same time paying attention to hard things.”

2018 September 2, Peggy Fletcher Stack, Scott D. Pierce, “Mormon church publishes its first official history in nearly a century, and the result is an easy-to-read volume that tackles some hard facts”, in The Salt Lake Tribune:

(Mormonism) A Latter-day Saint, a Mormon.

the lists of derived terms at saint and St


Lord

Lord (countable and uncountable, plural Lords)

See lord.
In reference to the God of the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Bible, originally a translation (attested from the late Old English form hlāford) of the Vulgate Latin Dominus (“master of a house; lord”), translating the New Testament and the Septuagint's Ancient Greek ὁ κύριος or Κύριος (ó kýrios, "the supreme one; Lord, Kyrios"), both in reference to Hebrew אֲדֹנָי (ʾdny, "my lord; my Lord, Adonai") from אדון (ʾdwn, "lord, patron; Lord") + י- (-y, "my"), cognate with Phoenician 𐤀𐤃𐤍 (ʾdn, "lord; Lord, Adon"). Adonai appears in the Tanakh both directly and as a euphemism read aloud during occurrences of the Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH, "I am what I am; Jehovah"). See the usage notes below. Displaced the earlier term Drighten.

der

Therfore I doe you to vnderſtand that no má ſpeaking in the Spirit of God, ſaith anáthema to IESVS. And no man can ſay, Our Lord IESVS: but in the holy Ghoſt.

1582, Douay–Rheims Bible, 1 Corinth. 12:3

How loyal in the following of thy Lord!

1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, (please specify |part=Prologue or Rpilogue, or |canto=I to CXXIX):

(Christianity) Jesus Christ, God the Son.


airman

A person employed in one of several aviation-adjacent professions other than flight crew, such as a mechanic or air traffic controller.

A person of a rank in the U.S. Air Force above airman basic and below airman first class.

A naval seaman, especially one in the U.S. Navy, who works on and/or handles aircraft.


Prof.

The Social at the College of Pharmacy—Profs. Cook and Van Derbeck Lecture.

1883 January 10, The Philadelphia Inquirer, volume CVIII, Philadelphia, Pa., page 2, column 4:

Profs Zeisler & Pardee / Surgery. / Prof. Morgan

1901, Quarterly Bulletin of Northwestern University Medical School, page 401:

The Profs they lead a jolly life, jolly life, / They’re free from every care and strife, care and strife. / They make the studes, poor studes fall into line; / I wish the Profs’ soft snap were mine.

1920, “Sammy” and “Reck”, “The Profs: A Cornell Forester’s Song”, in Cornell Forester:


Gov.

The value of these labors was officially recognized, beginning with Gov. Andrew of Massachusetts, who, as early as December, 1864, appointed him quarter-master-general of that state, with rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was also made aid-de-camp of Govs. Smith and Gilmore, of Rhode Island and New Hampshire, and thanks were voted him by the legislature of the first named state.

1899, The National Cyclopædia of American Biography: […], volume IX, New York, N.Y.: James T[erry] White & Company, page 459, column 1:


Reverend

Alternative letter-case form of reverend: a person who has received this designation and is entitled to use it publicly: a minister.


Gen.

As soon as Gen. Steedman had completed his movement, the commands of Gens. Smith and Wilson moved out along the Harding pike, and commenced the grand movement of the day by wheeling to the left and advancing against the enemy’s position across the Harding and Hillsboro pikes.

1865, Report of the Adjutant General and Acting Quartermaster General of the State of Iowa, Des Moines, Ia.: F. W. Palmer, […], page 1349:

(title) Abbreviation of General (military rank).


RSM

regimental sergeant major
regimental sergeant major#English

(military) Initialism of regimental sergeant major.


air chief marshal

en-noun

air chief marshal (plural air chief marshals)

A holder of the most senior active rank in the Royal Air Force, NATO grade OF-9.


Caesar

From Latin Caesar. Displaced Old English cāsere, which would have yielded *caser, *coser, and Middle English keiser, kaiser, from Old Norse and continental Germanic languages. All ultimately from the same Latin root. (See also Kaiser and tsar.)

The Caesars were an ancient and aristocratic family, which for eight generations had been prominent in the commonwealth.

1891, William Rainey Harper, Herbert Cushing Tolman, Eight Books of Caesar’s Gallic War, New York, N.Y., Cincinnati, Oh., Chicago, Ill.: American Book Company, page 2:

Habel, 63 ff., believes that up to 51 the emperors bestowed priesthoods on the Caesares, using their special power of commendation; but that these Caesares were forced to wait until a place in a college was vacant; that after 51 the Caesares were elected by the senate.

1955, Papers and Monographs of the w:American Academy in Rome, volume 16, page 100:

To the powerful, the Caesares were flattering, deferential, sincerely devoted, self-sacrificing, loyal, eagerly serving.

1965, Taylor Caldwell, A Pillar of Iron, Doubleday, →ISBN, page 128:

Five of the Caesares were killed during the years 90-85 (D. G., 3, 114).

1975, Collection Latomus, volume 142, page 39:

[…] Off. 1.133 and Att. 13.19.4 do not establish the uterine relationship of Catulus and the Caesares, merely the fact that Catulus and the Caesares were regarded as fratres.

1996, Antichthon, volumes 34–36, page 56:

Of the two plebeian candidates Silanus obviously counted on the assistance of Manlius, who was in office and to whom he was related from the grandfather, but his rival, a Minucius who had become a Marcius, counted on the patrician rival Caesar and on the other consul, L. Aurelius Cotta, because the Caesares were related by marriage both with the Marcii and the Cottae; in fact, Silanus was defeated by their coalition.

1999, Friedrich Münzer, translated by Thérèse Ridley, Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 319:

The Pulchri were a branch of the Clodius family, just as the Caesares were of the Julii.

2000, Richard W[alter] Hooper, Representative Chapters in Ancient History: From Romulus to Justinian, University Press of America, →ISBN, page 542:

He was joined on this commission by C. Caesar Strabo (RE Iulius no. 135), of another branch of the Caesares, who had stressed his heritage by adding the old Julian praenomen Vopiscus (see the cos. 473, MRR 1.29) to his name as a cognomen.

2009, Ernst Badian, “From the Iulii to Caesar”, in Miriam Griffin, editor, A Companion to Julius Caesar, Wiley Blackwell, →ISBN, page 15:

By about the middle of the 2nd cent., the Caesares were claiming descent from *Ascanius and, through him, from his grandmother Venus (see the coins Crawford, RRC 258, 129 bc, and 320, 103 bc, the latter with a symbolic reference to Apollo, the ancient god of the gens).

2012, Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, Esther Eidinow, editors, The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 755:

An ancient Roman family name, notably that of Julius Caesar.


centenary

From Latin centēnārius (“containing 100; local official overseeing a hundred”) either directly or via French centenaire, from centēnī (“100 each”) + -ārius (“-ary”), from centum (“hundred”). Doublet of centenarian, centenarize, kantar, and quintal.

doublet

Of or related to the number one hundred, particularly

Lasting or aged 100 years, 100-year-old.

(historical, obsolete) Of or relating to hundreds, the administrative unit.


centenary

(obsolete) Synonym of centurion: An officer commanding 100 men, especially (historical) in the Roman army.


Rt Hon

Right Honourable
Right Honourable#English

Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament

(UK and Commonwealth politics) Abbreviation of Right Honourable. (in the titles of Members of Parliament)


Hon

(British, politics) Honourable (in the titles of Members of Parliament)


honorable

en-adj

honorable (comparative more honorable, superlative most honorable)

more honorable (comparative)
most honorable (superlative)

From Middle English honourable, from Old French honorable, honurable, from Latin honōrābilis, from honōrō (“I honour”); cognate with Italian onorabile, Spanish honorable. By surface analysis, honor + -able. In this sense, largely displaced Old English ārfæst.

cabinet minister
cabinet minister#English

minister of state
minister of state#English

(politics) A courtesy title, given in Britain and the Commonwealth to a cabinet minister, minister of state, or senator, and in the United States to the president, vice president, congresspeople, state governors and legislators, and mayors.


PFC

If Steinkamp doesn't take off that hat and stop messing around, I'm gonna bust him into a PFC.

1962, The Manchurian Candidate, 01:56:35

private first class
private first class#English

(military) Initialism of private first class.


brigadier general

en-noun

brigadier general (plural brigadier generals)

(military) A military rank between colonel and the second lowest general rank or major general, having an O7 NATO rank scale equivalency


emeritus

PIE word
 *h₁eǵʰs
The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin ēmeritus (“(having been) earned, (having been) merited; (having been) served, having done one’s service”), the perfect passive participle of ēmereō (“to earn, merit; to gain by service; (military) to complete one’s obligation to serve, to serve out one’s time”), from ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + mereō (“to deserve, merit; to acquire, earn, get, obtain; to render service to; to serve”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to allot; to assign”)).
The noun is derived from the adjective. The plural form emeriti is borrowed from Latin ēmeritī.

der

Martin Engels said: “I am not posted on dyke-bridges, but if it is a Dutch scheme there may be something in it. That engineer made a mistake by calling the city officials emerituses. He should not call people names if he wants the Municipal Council to build his twenty-four-million-dollar bridge. If the Tammany organization wants to build a dyke-bridge, I’m for it.”

1900 September 21, “Dyke-Bridge Proposed. Engineer Santi Wants to Unite Manhattan and Richmond Boroughs—Tammany Men’s Views.”, in The New York Times, volume L, number 15,820, New York, N.Y., page 11, column 7:

Now, we have no criticism for college presidents and emerituses as such. A man may be all that and still be a pretty good fellow—whatever the effect might be on his character and happiness. But there is one thing certain—no one man can know it all.

1914 February 15, “The Case of Dr. Eliot”, in The Topeka Daily Capital, volume XXXVII, number 362, Topeka, Kan., page 8 B, column 1:

A “State-of-Mind” called Winter Park, / Where genius thrives, a brilliant spark, / Emerituses tramp thru dark / To hear illustrious profs remark / On “culchar,” tone and style. / So, hark, / While dogs, in tongues semantic, bark!

1938 April 12, “How Time Flies (From Reporter-Star Files)”, in Orlando Reporter-Star, volume 52, number 47, Orlando, Fla., poem “Rhapsodies!”, stanza I, page four, column 3:

Oh you, veteran crime reporter, you grave old usher, you once popular policeman, now in solitary confinement after gracing that school crossing for years, you wretched emeritus read to by a boy!

1955, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 8, in Lolita, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, published August 1958, →OCLC, part 1, page 30:

And so, another well-deserving name has been added to Central Florida’s list of emerituses, perhaps the most distinguished lineup of names in the area.

1961 December 22, Charlie Wadsworth, “Hush Puppies”, in Orlando Sentinel, volume 77, number 222, Orlando, Fla., pages 10—C, column 2:

Should he take the international presidency in a few years he would be in line for the AFL-CIO National Executive Council, now replete with emerituses.

1963 April 22, Victor Riesel, “Inside Labor—Power’s Star Rides on Union Vote”, in Omaha World-Herald, 98th year, number 176, Omaha, Neb., page 3ᴹ, column 4:

Back then, the poet Witter Bynner was invited to give a series of talks. His classes were small. It was beautiful weather. He took them out on the lawn. The faculty never forgot. To this very day you can find snowy haired emerituses toddling about in homspun^([sic]) tweeds who will tell you, “Had a poet here once. Name of Winter, think it was. Took the students out on the lawn.”

1964 December 9, Kenneth Rexroth, “Depersonalized Campus”, in San Francisco Examiner, page 46, column 5:

The Emerituses Are Back / More unfinished business: / The Commission on Governmental Ethics voted this week to look into the “emeritus” pay drawn by five retired state college presidents. The motion to investigate was made by commission member Victor Bussie, state president of the AFL-CIO, who said it was desirable to determine “whether or not university and college funds are being paid to people who are not performing useful work.” The only “no” vote on Mr. Bussie’s motion was cast by Commission Chairman Vanue Lacour, who argued that the code of ethics was never intended to apply to college and university affairs.

1974 March 30, Adras LaBorde, “Talk of the Town”, in Alexandria Daily Town Talk, volume XCII, number 14, Alexandria, La. – Pineville, La., section A, page four, column 5:

Unfortunately for the publicity shy doctor, the occasion happened to be the presentation of the much coveted Dhanvantri Award and newsmen had a field day clicking away at the galaxy of medical emerituses.

WHEN IT was announced Tuesday that my title henceforth will be “editor emeritus,” with Mike Kidder taking over as editor of the paper, I received a call from a very high-ranking Stanford official. “I never knew they had emerituses in your business,” he said. “I never did either,” I replied, “but it seemed to hit the right combination of subliminal dignity and overt ambiguity.”

1984 April 8, Leonard Koppett, “An ‘editor emeritus’ may yet produce a ‘pontificus maximus’”, in The Peninsula Times Tribune, page C-3, column 1:

You include some comment by Sakharov Institute organizers, but who are they compared to all the “emerituses”?

1984 November 11, Alex Cogan, “Editor’s mailbox”, in San Francisco Examiner, volume 1984, number 46, page B10, column 5:

He, Slick Moore, Phil Clark, Whitey Kendall, and Chico Bolin, all coaching emerituses, visit at the banquet each August and Howard insults them just as he did 40 years ago.

1991 August 2, Dan Foster, “Howard, Drysdale”, in The Greenville News, 117th year, number 210, page 1D, column 1:

As is so often the case, this particular critic is a professor emeritus and emerituses often grow reckless once free of the daily grind of dispensing received opinion.

1996 May 23, Gore Vidal, “Twain on the Grand Tour”, in Robert B[enjamin] Silvers, Barbara Epstein, editors, The New York Review of Books, New York, N.Y.: Rea S. Hederman, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-02-06, part 1:

What girl is among the front-runners of Sydney University’s emerituses?

1997 March 28, “Holiday Crossword Quiz”, in The Sydney Morning Herald, number 49,787, page 14, column 5:

“We could try going back, but that probably means dropping the expedition. Have you talked to Duden?” “He wouldn’t like that. He’s retiring, and emerituses don’t get grants the way they used to. He needs this. His career hasn’t had many successes.”

2016, Christopher Bernard, Voyage to a Phantom City, Berkeley, Calif.: Regent Press, →ISBN, page 70:

(plural emeriti or (rare) emerituses) A (male) person who is retired from active service or an occupation, especially one who retains an honorific version of a previous title.


SFC

en-noun

SFC (countable and uncountable, plural SFCs)

Sergeant First Class
w:Sergeant First Class

(military, US) Initialism of Sergeant First Class.


Phoebus

From Middle English Phebus, from Latin Phoebus, from Ancient Greek Φοῖβος (Phoîbos).

By Phœbus, here's a moſt neate fine ſtreete; is't not? I proteſt to thee, I am enamord of this ſtreete now, more then of halfe the ſtreetes of Rome, againe; tis ſo polite, and terſe; […]

1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster or The Arraignment: […], London: […] [R. Bradock] for M[atthew] L[ownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC, Act III:

The heaven doth not contain so many stars,
So many leaves not prostrate lie in woods,
When autumn’s old and Boreas sounds his wars,
So many waves have not the ocean floods,
As my rent mind hath torments all the night,

17th century, William Drummond, Sextain I, in English Poetry, published 1907, page 162

And heart spends sighs, when Phœbus brings the light.

For she recalled the edict which decreed
If in one day she did not take or kill
The challenger (to this King Charles agreed),
She was his captive and must do his will.
Phoebus was soon to plunge his golden head
Into the western sea when of her skill
And strength the Maid at last began doubt,
While her fatigue was putting hope to rout.[…]

1991 August 29, Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso: Part Two (Orlando Furioso), Penguin UK, →ISBN, →OCLC:

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) An epithet and synonym for Apollo; Phoebus Apollo.


non-commissioned officer

non-commissioned officer (plural non-commissioned officers)

A platoon sergeant may only be a non-commissioned officer but he's the one his men look to when the bullets start flying.

A person of authority in the military who has not received a commission (a direct conveyance of authority from the sovereign government); as such they can have charge or control but not command in the most technical use of the word.


milady

Partly representing a colloquial pronunciation of my + lady, partly from French milady, from English my Lady. Compare milord.

(now chiefly historical or humorous) An English noblewoman or gentlewoman; the form of address to such a person; a lady.


staff officer

Holonym: general staff

(military) An officer who fulfills a non-combat support function, often in a headquarters or planning office.

參謀

an officer who fulfills a non-combat support function


rear admiral

(military, nautical) A naval officer below the rank of vice admiral, originally in charge of a fleet's rear formation.


subaltern

en-adj

subaltern (comparative more subaltern, superlative most subaltern)

more subaltern (comparative)
most subaltern (superlative)

From Middle French subalterne, from Late Latin subalternus, from Latin sub- + alternus, from alter.

a subaltern officer

Two weeks after giving birth[…] she [Rachida Dati] was removed and offered no consolation prize other than the subaltern position of No 2 on the UMP's list for the next European elections.

2009 January 27, Agnes Poirier, “The fall of Rachida Dati reflects badly on the French president”, in The Guardian:

Celebrating the subversive practices of subaltern groups

2013, Isher-Paul Sahni, “More than Horseplay”, in Studies in Popular Culture, volume 35, page 81:

Of a lower rank or position; inferior or secondary; especially (military) ranking as a junior officer, below the rank of captain.


subaltern

She was an extraordinarily beautiful girl, Margaret Devereux ; and made all the men frantic by running away with a penniless young fellow ; a mere nobody sir a subaltern in a foot regiment, or something of that kind.

1891, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, London, New York, N.Y., Melbourne, Vic.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC:

As a subaltern of 24, Neave was captured in the defence of Calais in May 1940.

2003 February 20, Ciar Byrne, “Colditz: remade with love”, in The Guardian:

(British, military) A commissioned officer having a rank below that of captain; a lieutenant or second lieutenant.


His Holiness

He had an audience with His Holiness the Pope.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

An honorific or title used to refer to a high-ranking religious leader.

Негово светейшество

cf. Ваше светейшество n (Vaše svetejšestvo)

jego świątobliwość (cf. wasza świątobliwość f)


able seaman

able-bodied seaman
able-bodied seaman#English

(nautical) Synonym of able-bodied seaman.


Padishah

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish پادشاه (padişah), from Classical Persian پادِشاه (pādišāh) / پادْشاه (pādšāh).

(history) A ruler of a Muslim country or state.

padishah

(historical) a ruler of a Muslim country or state


cap'n

Aye aye, cap'n!

(informal) Contraction of captain used as a title.


Mademoiselle

en-noun

Mademoiselle (plural Mesdemoiselles or Mademoiselles)

Mesdemoiselles (plural)
Mademoiselles (plural)

To Mesdemoiselles ELIZABETH and LUCY OAKLEY, […]

1822 August 3, Benjamin Oakley, Letters on Miscellaneous and Domestic Subjects: Intended for the Use of the Writer’s Family, and a Few Select Friends, London: […] J. Moyes, […], published 1823, page 349:

The Malmaison Troupe, if I may thus style actors of such exalted social rank, consisted principally of Eugène, Jérôme, Lauriston, de Bourrienne, Isabey, de Leroy, Didelot, Mademoiselle Hortense, Madame Caroline Murat, and the two Mademoiselles Auguié, one of whom afterwards married Marshal Ney, and the other M. de Broc.

1895, [Louis] Constant [Wairy], translated by Walter Clark, Recollections of the Private Life of Napoleon, volume I, New York, N.Y., Boston, Mass.: H. M. Caldwell Co. […], page 59:

[…] Galatea and two of the Graces were performed by Sallé’s former pupils, Mademoiselle Puvignée and the two Mademoiselles Lany.

2007, Sarah McCleave, “Marie Sallé, a Wise Professional Woman of Influence”, in Lynn Matluck Brooks, editor, Women’s Work: Making Dance in Europe before 1800, The University of Wisconsin Press, →ISBN, page 174:

Alternative letter-case form of mademoiselle.


Excellency

(used with His, Her or Your) A form of address for certain high officials or dignitaries.

سَعَادَة

Form of address for certain high officials or dignitaries


Lamb of God

Calque of Latin Agnus Deī, itself a calque of Ancient Greek Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ (Amnòs toû Theoû). The name refers to Jesus' role as a sacrificial lamb that is (voluntarily) slaughtered on the Cross.

der

Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ


Mlle

(Mlle Mary Paillon states in the Bulletin Mensuelle du C.A.F., 1901, p. 67, that the first women to traverse the Arêtes were Mlles Marie and Louise Lacharière in 1891, but I have found no confirmation of this)

1969, Nea Morin, A Woman’s Reach: Mountaineering Memoirs, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc., pages 265–266:

Provenance: Mme Jean-Baptiste Lepère, née Elisabeth Fontaine, Paris, until 1844; her daughter Mme Jacques-Ignace Hittorff, née Elisabeth Lepère, Paris, until 1870; her son Charles-Joseph Hittorff, Versailles, until 1898; Dr. Pierre and Mlle Elisabeth Cartier, by inheritance; their gift to the Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1938

1999, Gary Tinterow, Philip Conisbee, editors, Portraits by Ingres: Image of an Epoch, New York, N.Y.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, →ISBN, page 349:

An atrocious fear of compromising my independence invaded me, and also an extreme timidity, before the so obstinately impenetrable attitude of the Mlles Louise and Pauline.

2020 (published), Mademoiselle Perle and Other Stories, Riverrun, →ISBN:


aide-de-camp

Unadapted borrowing from French aide-de-camp, from aide + de (“of”) + camp (“(military) camp”).

ubor

Unlike the orderly or batman, a humble low-ranking servant, an aide-de-camp is often a general, who before the institution of the chief of staff could hold a similar position to his chief.

A military officer who serves as an adjutant to a higher-ranking officer, prince or other high political dignitary.


field marshal

From field + marshal, calque of German Feldmarschall or its source, Middle French maréchal de camp.

(military) In certain nations the highest military rank, ranking below only the commander in chief; now essentially disused.

field marshall

highest military rank after the commander in chief


sultana

1580s, Italian sultana (feminine of sultano). Displaced existing sultaness.

bor

feminine of <i class="Latn mention" lang="it">sultano</i>


Dalai Lama

/ˈdælaɪ ˈlɑːmə/

/ˈdɑːlaɪ ˈlɑːmə/

Borrowed from Tibetan ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ (tā la'i bla ma), compound of Mongolian ᠳᠠᠯᠠᠢ (dalai, “ocean”) + Tibetan བླ་མ (bla ma, “lama”).

bor+

Of the Mongall Tartars.
The Mongalls are a numerous people, and occupy a large extent of country, from this place to the Kallgan, which ſignifies the everlaſting Wall, or the great wall of China. From this wall they ſtretch themſelves northward as far as the river Amoor; and from the Amoor, weſtward, to the Baykail ſea ; where they border with the territories of the Kontayſha, or prince of the black Kalmucks. On the ſouth, they are bounded by a nation called Tonguts, among whom the Delay Lama has his residence.

[1767, Annual register, or a view of the history and politics and literature for the year, page 38, column 2:

Szechuen troops defending recognized Chinese territory against the raids of the Tibetans declare that by crossing the Kinsha River the forces of the Da Lai Lama have violated the recent truce. The truce established the stream as the boundary between Tibet and China Proper.

[1933 December 2, “Tibetan Troops Renew Attack on Sikong”, in The China Weekly Review, volume 67, number 1, →OCLC, page 32, column 2:

I got a laugh from the Chinese audience when I said I thought that if Jiang and the Dalai Lama did meet, they would like each other very much.

2005, Bill Clinton, My Life, volume II, New York: Vintage Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 435:

I was pleased that President George W. Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama at the Capitol in October 2007.
In March 2008, I led a Congressional delegation to India. Part of our mission was to meet with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, the headquarters of Tibetan exiles.

2008, Nancy Pelosi, “A Voice That Will Be Heard”, in Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters, Doubleday, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 95:

At the 2007 APEC Summit in Sydney, I told President Hu I planned to attend a ceremony where the Dalai Lama would receive the Congressional Gold Medal. The Buddhist leader was a source of distress for the Chinese government, which accused him of stirring up separatists in Tibet. I met with the Dalai Lama five times during my presidency, and I found him to be a charming, peaceful man. I told China’s leaders they should not fear him. “This is not meant as a slap at China,” I said, “but as a measure of my respect for the Dalai Lama and for the U.S. Congress. You know my strong belief in religious freedom.”

2010, George W. Bush, Decision Points, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 428:

(Tibetan Buddhism) The supreme head of Tibetan Buddhism, believed to be an incarnation of Avalokitesvara, and considered the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.


bailo

From Venetian bailo. Doublet of bailiff.

Venice engaged to restore to the triarchs all property which the baili had conferred in fief since 1255.

1886, The Journal of Hellenic Studies, volume 7, page 328:

In 1670 the bailo was considered responsible for all the Venetian consuls in the Ottoman Empire.

2010, Gábor Ágoston, Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, page 73:

(historical) title of the Venetian envoy to particularly the Sublime Porte


Mr President

Mister President
Mister President#English


HRH

Her Royal Highness
Her Royal Highness#English


Her Royal Highness

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess Victoria.

A title given to certain female members of a royal family, abbreviated HRH.


HM

Initialism of His Majesty (the title of a king).

Initialism of Her Majesty (the title of a queen).

(India, government) Initialism of Home Minister.


His Royal Highness

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.

A title given to certain male members of a royal family, abbreviated HRH.


Your Honour

(Canada) A title used to address a provincial lieutenant-governor.


HE

en-noun

HE (countable and uncountable, plural HEs)


Your Worship

A title used to address a magistrate, mayor, or clergyman


commissioned officer

commissioned officer (plural commissioned officers)

(military) An officer who derives authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, holds a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position.

Offizier

an officer who derives authority directly from a sovereign power


First Lady

The wife of the chief executive of a nation; especially the wife of the President of a country; or a woman (e.g. a relative) who takes on similar public duties, as when the chief executive is unmarried.


brigadier

Borrowed from French brigadier. Equivalent to brigade + -ier.

(military, UK) A field officer of the highest grade, below general officers, NATO grade O7.


Monsieur

Monsieur (plural Monsieurs or Messieurs)

It will appear by the Minutes sent You to June i6th last, and by those which accompany this Letter, that Messieurs Smith and Schlatter have done their Part; [...]

1880, Horace Wemyss Smith, Life and Correspondence of the Rev. William Smith, D. D.: First Provost of the College and Academy of Philadelphia. First President of Washington College, Maryland. With Copious Extracts from His Writings, page 140:

As the Monsieurs suddenly showed up and confronted the situation with wicked grins on their faces, the gang members decided to sullenly disperse and slink away. It was like a scene from an old West showdown.

2011, Rick Johnson, That's My Teenage Son: How Moms Can Influence Their Boys to Become Good Men, Revell, →ISBN, page 204:

Estella smiled when she considered how very different her circumstances were now to those when, not so long ago, she had feared Monsieur Jones, and thought of him only as her captor. Now, he was something else: her liberator, ...

2014, Tasha Alexander, The Counterfeit Heiress: A Lady Emily Mystery, Minotaur Books, →ISBN, page 244:


very important person

very important person (plural very important persons or very important people)

very important persons (plural)
very important people (plural)

Coordinate term: personage

A person who is accorded special privileges due to their status or importance.

贵宾

person who is accorded special privileges due to his or her status or importance


Secretary of State

Secretary of State (plural Secretaries of State)


flag officer

(US military, informal) In addition to naval officers of Navy and the Coast Guard, a general officer in the Army, Marines, or Air Force with the rank of brigadier general or higher.


milord

From French milord, from English my Lord. Compare milady.

Not since the year 17—, when milord Castlebrilliant's curricle was whirled to sea with her ladyship within, had there been such vehement weather.

1919, Ronald Firbank, Valmouth, Duckworth, section 49:

(British, obsolete, humorous) An English nobleman, especially one traveling Europe in grand style; a wealthy British gentleman.


general of the army

general of the army (plural generals of the army)

admiral of the fleet
admiral of the fleet

A commissioned military officer of the highest rank in the United States, ranking directly above a general, and corresponding to marshal or field marshal in other countries. A general of the army is equal in grade or rank to an admiral of the fleet.

A military officer of the highest rank in several countries that follow the United States military rank system, including Liberia.


kingsman

(military) The lowest enlisted rank in the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment of the British Army, equivalent to private in the rest of the British Army.


major general

In short, when I've a smattering of elemental strategy-- [...] You'll say a better major-general has never sat agee.

1879, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert, Arthur Sullivan, composer, “I am the very pattern of a modern Major-General”, in The Pirates of Penzance […], Philadelphia: J.M. Stoddart & Co., published 1880, →OCLC, page 17:

A military officer in the armies of most nations, typically ranking below a lieutenant general and above a brigadier.


lieutenant colonel

lieutenant colonel (plural lieutenant colonels or lieutenants colonel)

lieutenant colonels (plural)
lieutenants colonel (plural)

סגן אלוף (s'gán alúf, literally “deputy champion”)

An army officer in many countries, ranking below a colonel and above a major. Often the commander of a battalion or the executive officer of a regiment.

An English-language term used as a general categorization for military officer ranks that are the equivalent of lieutenant colonel, the relative rank level is found in most countries.

An officer in the United States Marine Corps or Royal Marines, of equivalent rank to their counterparts in the army.

An officer in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve, or Air National Guard, ranking below colonel and above major. Often the commander of a squadron or the executive officer of a wing.


staff sergeant

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer

A non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of several countries, ranking above a sergeant (or, in the US Air Force, above a senior airman).


master sergeant

master sergeant (plural master sergeants)

sergeant first class
sergeant first class

(military, US) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, ranking above sergeant first class and below sergeant major; equal in grade and pay to a first sergeant.

master gunnery sergeant
master gunnery sergeant

(military, US) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps, ranking above gunnery sergeant and below master gunnery sergeant or sergeant major.

senior master sergeant
senior master sergeant

(military, US) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Air Force, ranking above technical sergeant and below senior master sergeant.


m'lord

1986, Ben Elton et al., Blackadder II, 3: "Money"
There's a priest wants t'see you, m'lord.
Well, tell him I'm Jewish.

2012, David Benioff et al., A Game of Thrones, 2.3: "A Man without Honor"
And, girl.
My lord.
Lowborn girls say "m'lord", not "my lord". If you're going to pose as a commoner, you should do it properly.

(British, now often historical or humorous, also law, in India) My Lord (used to address peers temporal, judges, etc).


first sergeant

(US) In the United States Army, a non-commissioned officer ranking above sergeant first class and below sergeant major; equal in rank to a master sergeant but with greater command authority.

(US) In the United States Marine Corps, a non-commissioned officer ranking above gunnery sergeant and below sergeant major or master gunnery sergeant; equal in rank to a master sergeant, but with command rather than technical responsibilities.

(US) In the United States Air Force, an appointment (not a rank) for the senior member of enlisted personnel in a squadron or other unit. The appointment is usually held by a master sergeant.


gunnery sergeant

gunnery sergeant (plural gunnery sergeants)

(military, US) A non-commissioned officer of rank E-7 in the United States Marine Corps, ranking above a staff sergeant and below a master sergeant or first sergeant.


m'lady

(now often historical or humorous) My Lady (used to address peers temporal, judges, etc).


sergeant major

sergeant major (plural sergeant majors or sergeants major)

sergeant majors (plural)
sergeants major (plural)

(US, plural sergeants major) The most senior rank of non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, ranking above a first sergeant. In the United States Marine Corps it ranks above First Sergeant and is equal in grade to Master Gunnery Sergeant.


lance corporal

(US) An enlisted rank of grade E-3 in the United States Marine Corps, ranking above private first class and below corporal. Abbreviated as LCpl.


sergeant first class

sergeant first class (plural sergeants first class)

(US, Army) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, ranking above a staff sergeant and below a master sergeant or first sergeant.


private first class

private first class (plural privates first class)

nëntetar

rank between a private and a corporal or specialist

(US) An enlisted rank in the United States Marine Corps, of rank E-2, ranking above a private and below a lance corporal.

일등병

rank between a private and a lance corporal


governor-general

It is a historical and analytical study of the position of Viceroy and Governor-General in the Indian constitutional system.

1940, Abani Bhushan Rudra, The Viceroy and Governor-General of India, page xi:

The vulnerability of the Governor-General should not be overstated.

1997, New Zealand Law Journal, page 217:

2003, The Far East and Australasia 2003, Europa Publications, page 122,
The legislative power of the Commonwealth of Australia is vested in a Federal Parliament, consisting of HM the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), a Senate, and a House of Representatives.

(UK) An official appointed by the reigning British monarch to govern a Commonwealth realm as the monarch's representative.


praetor

From Middle English pretour, pretor, from the Anglo-Norman pretour, pretore, the Middle French preteur (from the Old French pretor; compare the Modern French préteur), and their etymon, the Classical Latin praetor (“leader”, “commander”, “magistrate”); the Latin praetor being contracted from *praeitor (“one who goes before”), from praeeō (“I go before”), from prae (“before”) + eō (“I go”); compare the Italian pretore, the Portuguese pretor, and the Spanish pretor.

der

prætor [16th–19th centuries, now archaic]

pretor [15th–17th centuries, 20th century–present]

(history) The title designating a Roman administrative official whose role changed over time:

(originally) A consul in command of the army.

praetor peregrīnus
praetor peregrinus#Latin

(after 366 BC) An annually-elected curule magistrate, subordinate to the consuls in provincial administration, and who performed some of their duties; numbering initially only one, later two (either of the praetor urbānus (“urban praetor”) or the praetor peregrīnus (“peregrine praetor”)), and eventually eighteen.

(historical, translating Italian "pretore") The title of the chief magistrate, the mayor, and/or the podestà in Palermo, in Verona, and in various other parts of 17th- and 18th-century Italy.


Panchen Lama

Tibetan པན་ཆེན་བླ་མ (pan chen bla ma). From Sanskrit पण्डित (paṇḍita, “scholar”) + Tibetan ཆེན་པོ (chen po, “big”) + Tibetan བླ་མ (bla ma).

Hastings sent two embassies to Tibet, those of George Bogle in 1774-5 and Samuel Turner in 1783. Both envoys went to the Panchen Lama’s residence near Shigatse (Jihkatse), but neither visited the Dalai Lama at Lhasa.

1985, Alastair Lamb, “Introduction”, in India and Tibet, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page v:

(Tibetan Buddhism) The second-highest-ranking lama of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism, after the Dalai Lama.

Panchen Lama

second-highest ranking lama of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism


naik

From Sanskrit नायक (nāyaka, “leader, governor”).

cog

1888: Also, he had to keep his temper … especially once when he was abused by a Naik he had himself recruited from Isser Jang village — Rudyard Kipling, ‘Miss Youghal's Sais’, Plain Tales from the Hills (Folio Society 2007, p. 26)

(India, Pakistan, Nepal) A non-commissioned officer equivalent to corporal in a corps of Indian, Pakistani or Nepalese soldiers.


your Honor

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-your Honor.wav

(chiefly Philippines, formal) you (a form of address for a representative or senator in the Philippine Congress during hearings and inquiries, and for canvassers during the canvass of electoral results).


Prince of Peace

* 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Isaiah, 9:6
*: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.


gunner

Cebuano: gunner

gonna (non-rhotic, based on the /ˈɡʌn.ə/ pronunciation)

From Middle English gonner; equivalent to gun + -er.

(military) An artillery soldier, especially one who holds private rank.


air marshal

(British, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, military) A military rank between that of air vice-marshal and air chief marshal, equivalent to an army lieutenant general.


Cpl

(military, US) Abbreviation of corporal.


Son of Man

From Middle English Sone of man, sone of man (also Mannes sone, Monnes Sune, man sone, man sun, etc.), meaning "mortal man, human being; the Messiah, the Christ", a reanalysis of Old English Mannes sunu (literally “man's son”), equivalent to Son + of + Man. Calque of Ancient Greek υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (huiòs toû anthrṓpou), itself a calque of Aramaic בַּר אֱנָשׁ (human being, “bar ʾĕnāš”, literally “Son of man”), used in Daniel 7:13 for an apocalyptic figure.

clq

υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου

der

(Christianity) A Christian title of Jesus Christ, referring to his status as a celestial being who presides as an eschatological judge.


His Imperial Majesty

(formal) he; him (in reference to a (male) emperor)


havildar

Borrowed from Hindustani حوالدار (ḥavāldār) / हविलदार (havildār), from Persian حوالدار (havâldâr), from Arabic حَوَالَة (ḥawāla, “charge”) + Persian دار (dâr, “holder”).

‘There was a great fight,’ said the Havildar, ‘and of us no man escaped unhurt.’

1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘At Howli Thana’, Black and White, Folio Society, published 2005, page 388:

On being congratulated by the Russian, the Gurkha havildar, or sergeant, whispered anxiously to Younghusband that he should inform the towering Gromchevsky that they were unusually small and that most Gurkhas were even taller than he was.

1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 406:

noncommissioned officer
noncommissioned officer

(South Asia) An noncommissioned officer rank in parts of India, later a specific military rank of the British Indian Army and of the modern armies of India and Pakistan, equivalent to sergeant.


Rt. Rev.

Right Reverend (an ecclesiastical title)


Rt Rev

Abbreviation of right reverend (an ecclesiastical title)


CWO

chief warrant officer
w:chief warrant officer

(military, rank) Initialism of chief warrant officer.


Rt. Rev'd.

The Right Reverend (an ecclesiastical title)


Rt. Revd.

Right Reverend (as an ecclesiastical title).


Grand Master

A title, especially of chivalric orders, fraternal orders and fraternal organizations.


buck private

Bedell Smith was a shopkeeper's son from Indiana who rose from buck private to general without the polish of West Point or a college degree.

2007, Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes, Penguin, published 2008, pages 15–16:

(US, military slang) A private soldier keen ("bucking") for promotion; an ambitious private.


subadar

From Hindi सूबेदार (sūbedār)/Urdu صوبدار (sūbadār), and its source, (Indian) Persian صوبدار (subadâr), corresponding to subah + -dar.

(India, Pakistan, Nepal) A noncommissioned officer rank in the armies of India and Pakistan.


rear admiral (lower half)

en-noun

rear admiral (lower half) (plural rear admirals (lower half))

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps

Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

rear admiral (upper half)
rear admiral (upper half)

(US, military, nautical) A commissioned officer in the United States Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA Corps, or PHS Corps of a grade superior to a captain and junior to a rear admiral (upper half). A rear admiral (lower half) is equal in grade or rank to an Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force brigadier general.


rear admiral (upper half)

rear admiral (upper half) (plural rear admirals (upper half))

United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard

rear admiral (lower half)
rear admiral (lower half)

(US, military, nautical) A flag officer in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, or Public Health Service Commissioned Corps of a grade superior to a rear admiral (lower half) and junior to a vice admiral. A rear admiral (upper half) is equal in grade or rank to an Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force major general. A rear admiral (upper half) wears a two star insignia on most uniforms and a gold stripe above a broad gold stripe on the sleeve of certain dress uniforms.


first lieutenant

first lieutenant (plural first lieutenants)

lieutenant junior grade
lieutenant junior grade

(military) The second lowest rank of a commissioned officer in the United States Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps, ranking above a second lieutenant and below a captain. The rank of first lieutenant is equivalent to the naval rank of lieutenant junior grade.

(military) An equivalent rank in other military forces.


Son of God

From Middle English sone of God (also Goddes Sone, Godes Sune, etc.), a reanalysis of Old English Godes Sunu (literally “God's Son”), equivalent to Son + of + God.

der

(Christianity) Jesus Christ; the Son, considered one of the three persons of the Trinity by Trinitarians.


President-elect

Alternative letter-case form of president-elect


binbashi

From Ottoman Turkish بیكباشی (binbaşı, literally “leader of a thousand”).


Governor General

en-noun

Governor General (plural Governors General)

governor general
governor general#English


chief petty officer

chief petty officer (plural chief petty officers)

petty officer first class
petty officer first class

senior chief petty officer
senior chief petty officer

(US, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above petty officer first class and below senior chief petty officer.


commodore admiral

commodore admiral (plural commodore admirals)

(US, military, nautical, historical) a flag officer of a rank between a captain and a rear admiral, having a O7 NATO rank scale equivalency.


senior colonel

(military) a military rank for a field officer above that of colonel and below the general ranks or flag ranks


fleet captain

(military, nautical) A captain in command of a fleet, convoy, or flotilla.


senior captain

(military) a military rank for a field officer above that of captain and below that of major

(military) a military rank for a naval officer above that of captain and below the admiral ranks or flag ranks


Sabaoth

/səˈbeɪˌoʊθ/

From Latin, from Ancient Greek Σαβαώθ (Sabaṓth), from Biblical Hebrew צבאות (tsabāʾōθ), plural of צבא (tsābāʾ).

(Judaism, Christianity, biblical) An epithet of God in His role as protector of the Israelite army, usually translated (alongside YHWH or Elohim) as "Lord of Hosts".


senior chief petty officer

senior chief petty officer (plural senior chief petty officers)

master chief petty officer
master chief petty officer

(US, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above chief petty officer and below master chief petty officer.


master chief petty officer

master chief petty officer (plural master chief petty officers)

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer

(US, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above senior chief petty officer.


seaman apprentice

seaman apprentice (plural seamen apprentice or seaman apprentices)

seamen apprentice (plural)
seaman apprentices (plural)

(US, Navy) An enlisted rate in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above seaman recruit and below seaman.


seaman recruit

seaman recruit (plural seamen recruit or seaman recruits)

seamen recruit (plural)
seaman recruits (plural)

(US, Navy) An enlisted rate in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking below seaman apprentice.


petty officer third class

petty officer third class (plural petty officers third class)

petty officer second class
petty officer second class

(US, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above seaman and below petty officer second class.


petty officer second class

petty officer second class (plural petty officers second class)

petty officer third class
petty officer third class

(US, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above petty officer third class and below petty officer first class.


petty officer first class

petty officer first class (plural petty officers first class)

(US, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above petty officer second class and below chief petty officer.


master seaman

(Canada, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, ranking above leading seaman and below petty officer second class.


leading seaman

(Australia, UK, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Navy, ranking above able seaman and below petty officer.

(Canada, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, ranking above able seaman and below master seaman.


chief petty officer first class

chief petty officer first class (plural chief petty officers first class)

chief petty officers first class (plural)

chief petty officer second class
chief petty officer second class

(Canada, Navy) A warrant officer in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, ranking above chief petty officer second class.


chief petty officer second class

chief petty officer second class (plural chief petty officers second class)

chief petty officers second class (plural)

chief petty officer first class
chief petty officer first class

(Canada, Navy) A warrant officer in the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, ranking above petty officer first class and below chief petty officer first class.


warrant officer class 1

warrant officer class 1 (plural warrant officers class 1)

warrant officer class 2
warrant officer class 2

regimental sergeant major
regimental sergeant major

(Australia, Army) A warrant officer in the Australian Army, ranking above warrant officer class 2 and below regimental sergeant major.

(UK, Army, Navy, Marines) A warrant officer in the British Army, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy, ranking above warrant officer class 2. In the army the rank held by a regimental sergeant major.


warrant officer class 2

warrant officer class 2 (plural warrant officers class 2)

(UK) NATO rank OR-8 in all British armed services.

warrant officer class 1
warrant officer class 1

company sergeant major
company sergeant major

(UK, Army) A warrant officer in the British Army ranking above staff sergeant and below warrant officer class 1; company sergeant major

(UK, Marines) A warrant officer in the Royal Marines ranking above colour sergeant and below warrant officer class 1.

(UK, Navy) A warrant officer in the Royal Navy ranking above chief petty officer and below warrant officer class 1.

(Australia, Army) A warrant officer in the Australian Army, ranking above sergeant and below warrant officer class 1.


Brother

Title of respect for an adult male member of a fraternal/sororal organization, or comrade in a movement, or even a stranger using fictive kin.


Sister

At the convent, Sister Grace supervises the kitchen.

Please welcome Sister Smith as she moves from her former congregation to her new congregation.

Could you say a prayer for me, Sister?

Title of respect for an adult female member of a religious order.

Sister Huerta was to have been our initial speaker this morning. However, we received word later this morning that Sister Huerta would be unable to attend our convention.

1983, Official Proceedings, Resolutions, Constitution and Merger Agreement of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Convention:

Title of respect for an adult female member of a fraternal/sororal organization, or comrade in a movement, or even a stranger using fictive kin.

Native American leader Chief Seattle urged ecological responsibility, referring to Brother Eagle and Sister Sky in his purported 1854 speech.

A title used to personify or respectfully refer to concepts or animals.


LCpl

(military, US) Abbreviation of lance corporal.


sowar

From Hindi/Urdu सवार (savār)/سوار (savār), from Classical Persian سوار (sawār, “horseman”).

der

I have been laboring under the impression that, for soul-harrowing vocal effort, the wild-eyed sowars of Khorassan, as exemplified in my escort from Beerjand, were entitled to the worst execrations of a discriminating Ferenghi, but the Afghans can go them one better.

1887, Thomas Stevens, chapter XII, in Around the World on a Bicycle, Vol. II: From Teheran to Yokohama, London: Sampson Low […] :

Among the latter was Hope Grant, who had his horse shot under him in a charge, and was saved by the devotion of two men of his own regiment (the 9th Lancers) and a Mahomedan sowar of the 4th Irregular Cavalry.

1897, Frederick Sleigh Roberts, Forty-one years in India:

Hills was struck down badly wounded, and was on the point of being despatched by a sowar, when Major Tombs, hearing the noise, rushed out of his tent, and seeing the plight his subaltern was in, fired his revolver at thirty yards and killed the sowar.

1910, Charles John Griffiths, A Narrative Of The Siege Of Delhi:

(historical, India) A soldier on horseback, especially one during the British Raj.


Queen

Queen Elizabeth II

The reminiscences of Princess Mary Louise, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, vividly evoke this continuity of royal women “performing” masculinity, by a page of illustration showing Queens Victoria and Elizabeth II, mounted on horseback in almost identical uniform, reviewing troops.

2007, Clarissa Campbell Orr, “The Feminization of the Monarchy, 1780–1910: Royal Masculinity and Female Empowerment”, in Andrzej Olechnowicz, editor, The Monarchy and the British Nation, 1780 to the Present, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 94:

A title used before the personal name of a queen.


Queen

Her Majesty the Queen v. John Smith, style of cause of a criminal case.

In Commonwealth realms, the personification of the Crown, particularly in legal matters.

An unincorporated community in Eddy County, New Mexico, United States, named after the Queen Ranch.

An unincorporated community in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States.


President

the President of the United States

I was not just the President of Southern Americans or white Americans. I was the President of all Americans. I believed that a huge injustice had been perpetrated for hundreds of years on every black man, woman, and child in the United States. I did not think that our nation could endure much longer as a viable democracy if that injustice were allowed to continue.

1971, Lyndon Johnson, The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 39:

An honorific for the head of state of a republic; see president (definition 1).


dogaressa

/ˌdəʊɡəˈɹɛsə/

/ˌdəʊʒəˈɹɛsə/

/ˌdəʊdʒəˈɹɛsə/

/ˌdoʊɡəˈɹɛsə/

/ˌdoʊʒəˈɹɛsə/

/ˌdoʊdʒəˈɹɛsə/

Unadapted borrowing from Italian dogaressa, from Venetian dogaresa, from Medieval Latin ducarissa, a feminine of dux (“ruler”). Doublet of dogess and duchess.


warrant officer 2

en-noun

warrant officer 2 (plural warrant officers 2)

warrant officer class 2
warrant officer class 2#English

Alternative form of warrant officer class 2


regimental sergeant major

regimental sergeant major (plural regimental sergeants major or regimental sergeant majors)

regimental sergeants major (plural)
regimental sergeant majors (plural)

(UK, Australia, army) The senior warrant officer in a regiment or battalion, usually a warrant officer class 1.


CSM

company sergeant major
company sergeant major#English

(Commonwealth, military) Initialism of company sergeant major.


M.

From Ms., Mrs., Mr., Miss, Mister, Mistress, Master, Magistrate, Missus.

while we're at it, let's get rid of all this Miss/Mrs/Mr/Ms crap. It wasn't much of a step to go from Miss/Mrs to Ms; after all, the issue should be that gender is unimportant. How about one generic title for everyone? For instance, M. Smith, M. Jones. […]

1982 July 10, Mx. John Eldridge (username "floyd!jce"), More words and sex, net.nlang

I like the idea of just "M. Smith". Who cares whether the person is male or female if the matters under discussion are just business? If this is confusable with "Malcolm Smith" or "Marylin Smith", why not use "Mx. Smith" instead. […]

1983 September 27, Martin Taylor, Miss/Mrs/Ms, net.women

(rare) A gender-neutral honorific, comparable to Mx., used instead of Mr., Mrs., etc.


RDML

rear admiral (lower half)
rear admiral (lower half)#English

(US, military, nautical) Abbreviation of rear admiral (lower half).


RAdm

(military, nautical) Abbreviation of rear admiral.


RADM

rear admiral (upper half)
rear admiral (upper half)#English

(US, military, nautical) Abbreviation of rear admiral (upper half).


company sergeant major

company sergeant major (plural company sergeants major or company sergeant majors)

company sergeants major (plural)
company sergeant majors (plural)

(UK) An appointment in the army, the senior warrant officer in a company, usually held by a warrant officer class 2.


towkay

From Malay tauke, from Hokkien 頭家／头家 (thâu-ke, “boss”).

My own experience would lead me to suggest that the Chinese immigrants should be placed under one Towkay, or head man, who would control those villages under his care.

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 352:

(Malaysia, Singapore), A business owner; boss (especially a Malaysian Chinese or a Singaporean Chinese).


vicenary

/ˈvɪsəˌnɛɹi/

From Latin vīcēnārius, from vīcēnus (“twenty each”) + -ārius (“-ary: forming adjectives and related nouns”). Doublet of vicenarious. Ultimately cognate with English vigenary.

Delicat, another Captaine, or vicenarie in Sara, hauing vnder him twenty assistants.

1603, S. Harsnett, Declaration of Popish Impostures, page 49:

(military, obsolete or archaic) An officer in command of twenty men.


Redeemer of Mankind

O God the Son, Redeemer of Mankind, Have Mercy on us.

1728, A Manual of Prayers and Other Chriſtian Devotions, §: “The Litany of the Saints and Angels”, page 50


Perfecter of the Elect

O God the Holy Ghoſt, Perfecter of the Elect, Have Mercy on us.

(Christianity) An epithet of the Holy Spirit.


Father of Heaven

O God the Father of Heaven, have Mercy upon us, miſerable Sinners. [¶] The addreſſing God the Father, by the Name of Father of Heaven, and the praying to him ſeparately, is juſtified by theſe Words of St. Paul, For this Cauſe I bow my Knees unto the Father of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, of whom the whole Family in Heaven and Earth is named, Epheſ. iii. 13, 14.

1737, Laurence Clarke, “Of the Litany”, in A Compleat Exposition of the Book of Common-Prayer, page 37:

(Christianity) An epithet of God the Father.


Splendour of the Father

Indeed he expreſsly teaches that the Power of the Word, even when he thus humbles himſelf, does moſt perfect and nearly converſe with God the Father, and abiding in him, does more ineffably enjoy his Secrets, in like manner as Athanaſius ſays, The Word himſelf does not ſo condeſcend, but that he always remains the unalloyed Splendour of the Father.

1714, Bp George Bull, Some Important Points of Primitive Chriſtianity Maintained and Defended (2nd ed.), volume III, discourse IV: “The Conſubſtantiality and Coeternity of the Son of God with God the Father, Aſſerted; or ſome few Animadverſions on a Treatiſe of Mr. Gilbert Clerke, entituled Anteniceniſmus, ſo far as the ſaid Author pretends to anſwer Dr. George Bull’s Defenſe of the Nicene Faith, &c.”, §: ‘Animadverſions on the Treatiſe itſelf’, page 950


pentecoster

From pentecost + -er, from Medieval Latin pentēcostē, from Ancient Greek πεντηκοστή (pentēkostḗ, “fiftieth”). Cognate with Pentecost.

der

...they would have the command of the pentecoster, penteconter, or pentecoptater (for thus variously the title is written)...

1784-1810, William Mitford, The History of Greece:

An officer who commands fifty men, particularly (historical) in the Spartan army.