Etymologically
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commander

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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

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)