commander

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /kəˈmɑːn.də/, US /kəˈmæn.dɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English comandour, borrowed from Old French comandeor (“commander, commandant”),^[2][3] from comander “to order, enjoin”,^[2][3] from Late Latin commandāre (“to command”).^[4] It is related to command, commando and mandate.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who has control of something, and a ruler or leader: before 1300 in the OED;^[5] one who has authority to command, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[2]

Semantic evolution

One who orders anything is from about 1386.^[5] The commander of a ship is from about 1450,^[5] and in the British and American navies the title of an officer ranking below a captain.^[5][6] The officer in command of a military force is from 1598.^[5] In the medieval military orders, such as the Knights Hospitallers, a commander held a commandery (1611),^[5] and members of the higher classes of some modern orders of knighthood are commanders (1846).^[5] Commander in chief is from the 1650s;^[2] in the United States it is, by the Constitution, the president, and George Washington was so called by 1778.^[2] A large wooden mallet used by paviours was also a commander (1573).^[5][7]

Timeline

• a. 1300 – a ruler or leader.^[5]
• c. 1450 – the commander of a ship.^[5]
• 1573 – a wooden mallet.^[5]
• 1598 – the commander of a military force.^[5]
• 1650s – commander in chief.^[2]
• 1846 – a rank in an order of knighthood.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person in charge of something, especially an officer in command of a military unit.
2. An officer in the navy ranking above a lieutenant commander and below a captain.
3. A member of a higher class in some orders of knighthood.

Word family

• commandership
• subcommander
• undercommander
• commander in chief
• wing commander

Related words

• commandery
• command
• commando
• mandate
• commandant

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)