lieutenant

lieutenant
/looh ten"euhnt/; in Brit. use, except in the navy, /lef ten"euhnt/, n.
1. Mil.
2. U.S. Navy. a commissioned officer ranking between lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant commander.
3. a person who holds an office, civil or military, in subordination to a superior for whom he or she acts: If he can't attend, he will send his lieutenant.
[1325-75; ME < MF, n. use of adj. phrase lieu tenant place-holding. See LOCUM TENENS, LIEU, TENANT]

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▪ military rank
      company grade officer, the lowest rank of commissioned officer in most armies of the world. The lieutenant normally commands a small tactical unit such as a platoon.

      In the British Army and in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, a second lieutenant is the lowest ranking commissioned officer. Above him in the U.S. services comes a first lieutenant (lieutenant in the British Army), then a captain. In the Russian Army there is still another rank, senior lieutenant. The term lieutenant has a somewhat different meaning in the U.S. and British navies, in which the lowest ranking commissioned officer is an ensign (U.S.) or sublieutenant (British). The next higher rank is lieutenant junior grade (U.S. and British), followed by lieutenant and lieutenant commander. A U.S. navy lieutenant is thus equal in rank to an army, air force, or Marine Corps captain; a U.S. navy ensign is equal in rank to a second lieutenant in the other services. In the Royal Air Force a flight lieutenant ranks below a squadron leader and above a flying officer.

      The word also appears in combination with other military and civilian titles to denote a second-in-command or one of lower rank. A lieutenant colonel, for example, ranks below a colonel and above a major. A lieutenant general ranks below a general and above a major general. In the U.S. and British navies a lieutenant commander, as noted above, ranks between a lieutenant and a commander.

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  • lieutenant — Lieutenant. s. m. Officier qui est immediatement sous un autre Officier en chef, & qui tient son lieu en son absence. Gouverneur & Lieutenant General pour le Roy dans la province de &c. Lieutenant de Roy de Languedoc. Lieutenant de Roy de la… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Lieutenant — Lieu*ten ant (l[ u]*t[e^]n ant), n. [F., fr. lieu place + tenant holding, p. pr. of tenir to hold, L. tenere. See {Lieu}, and {Tenant}, and cf. {Locum tenens}.] 1. An officer who supplies the place of a superior in his absence; a representative… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • lieutenant — [lo͞o ten′ənt; ] Brit & Cdn [ lef ten′ənt] n. [ME lutenand, luftenand < MFr < lieu (see LIEU) + tenant, holding, prp. of tenir, to hold < L tenere, to hold: see THIN] 1. a person who acts for a superior, as during the latter s absence;… …   English World dictionary

  • Lieutenant — (frz. [ljøtˈnɑ̃], engl. [lɛfˈtɛnənt] (BE) oder auch [luːˈtɛnənt] (AE)) bezeichnet im französischen Wortsinne (lieu + tenant): Statthalter im englisch und französischsprachigen Raum einen militärischen Dienstgrad, in den Landstreitkräften… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Lieutenant — (v. fr., spr. Liöht nang), im Deutschen gewöhnlich Leutnant gesprochen; 1) Stellvertreter von Jemand, bes. wenn derselbe eine öffentliche Function bekleidet; so: L. du roi, Stellvertreter des Königs; früher in den französischen Provinzen die mit… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Lieutenant — Lieutenant, s. Leutnant …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Lieutenant — Lieutenant, s. Leutnant …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Lieutenant — (liöhtʼnang), Stellvertreter, der unterste Offiziersrang …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

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