lieutenant

Pronunciation

• IPA: /lɛfˈtɛn.ənt/, /ləfˈtɛn.ənt/ (UK); /l(j)uˈtɛn.ənt/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English lieutenant (“deputy”),^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French lieutenant (“substitute, deputy”),^[2][3][5][4] literally “place-holder”,^[3][5] from Old French lieu (“place”) + tenant (“holding”).^[2][3][5][6] The second part is the present participle of tenir “to hold”,^[2][3][5][6] from Latin tenēre (“to hold”).^[2][6] Merriam-Webster gives the source as Anglo-French lieu tenant.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who takes the place of another; an officer, civil or military, who acts for a superior.^[5][7][3][2]

Semantic evolution

The idea is of a substitute for a higher authority,^[5] still seen in titles such as lieutenant governor.^[2] The specific army sense, the officer next below a captain who commands the company in his absence, is from the 1570s,^[5] and in the navy a lieutenant ranked next below the commander.^[7] The British pronunciation with lef- is old, reflected in spellings back to the 14th century, but its origin is unexplained.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1375 – a deputy;^[7] Barnhart gives about 1378 and RHWU 1325–75.^[3][4]
• 1423 – a formal title of office.^[7]
• 1570s – an army officer below a captain.^[5]
• 1578 – a naval officer.^[7]
• 1884 – an officer in the Salvation Army.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A commissioned army officer ranking below a captain, such as a first or second lieutenant.
2. A naval officer ranking just below a lieutenant commander.
3. A police or fire department officer ranking below a captain.
4. A person who acts for or represents a superior; a deputy or aide.

Word family

• lieutenancy
• sublieutenant
• first lieutenant
• second lieutenant
• lieutenant commander
• lieutenant colonel
• lieutenant general

Related words

• lieu
• tenant
• locum tenens

Usage notes

As a title it is capitalized and often abbreviated Lt.^[1] RHWU notes the British pronunciation with lef- except in the navy.^[4]

References

1. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. [1] [2] [3] [4] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
5. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. [1] [2] [3] [4] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press