commander

See also: Commander

English

Etymology

From Middle English comaundour, commaunder, comaunder, borrowed from Old French comandeor, cumandeur, from comander. By surface analysis, command +‎ -er. See command.

Pronunciation

  • (General American) IPA(key): /kəˈmændɚ/
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /kəˈmɑːndə/
  • (Northern England) IPA(key): /kəˈmandə/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

commander (plural commanders)

  1. One who exercises control and direction of a military or naval organization.
    • 1883, United States. War Department, Annual Reports of the War Department, volume 1, page 128:
      I think if post commanders of the unchaplained posts could employ acceptable clergymen [] then the needs might be met.
    • 2007 September 30, Douglas Brinkley, “Overlord’s Overlord”, in The New York Times[1]:
      Instead, Korda squeezes Eisenhower’s extraordinary two-term presidency — not to mention his stints as president of Columbia University and commander of NATO forces — into 140 themeless pages.
  2. A naval officer whose rank is above that of a lieutenant commander and below that of captain.
    • 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Earth:
      Shepard: I don't take orders from you anymore, remember?
      Anderson: Consider yourself reinstated... Commander.
  3. One who exercises control and direction over a group of persons.
  4. A designation or rank in certain non-military organizations such as NASA and various police forces.
  5. (obsolete) The chief officer of a commandry.
  6. A heavy beetle or wooden mallet, used in paving, in sail lofts, etc.
  7. A rank within an honorary order: e.g. Commander of the Legion of Honour.
  8. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genus Moduza.
  9. (Singapore, military) A soldier who has attained the rank of sergeant or higher

Derived terms

Translations

French

Etymology

  • Inherited from Middle French commander, from Old French comander, from Latin commandāre, from commendō + mandō.

    Pronunciation

    Verb

    commander

    1. to order (tell someone to do something)
    2. to order (ask for a product)

    Conjugation

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • Haitian Creole: kòmande
    • Northern Kurdish: komandar
    • Portuguese: comandar
    • Romanian: comanda

    Further reading

    Middle French

    Etymology

  • Inherited from Old French comander, from Latin commandāre, from commendō + mandō.

    Verb

    commander

    1. to command
    2. to recommend

    Conjugation

    • Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

    Descendants