commander
UK /kəˈmɑːndə/ · US /kəˈmændɚ/ noun, proper noun
Forms commanders
- noun One who exercises control and direction of a military or naval organization.
- noun A naval officer whose rank is above that of a lieutenant commander and below that of captain.
- noun One who exercises control and direction over a group of persons.
- noun A designation or rank in certain non-military organizations such as NASA and various police forces.
- noun (obsolete) The chief officer of a commandry.
- noun A heavy beetle or wooden mallet, used in paving, in sail lofts, etc.
- noun A rank within an honorary order: e.g. Commander of the Legion of Honour.
- noun Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genus Moduza.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English comaundour, commaunder, comaunder, borrowed from Old French comandeor, cumandeur, from comander. By surface analysis, command + -er. See command.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A chief; one who has supreme authority; a leader; the chief officer of an army, or of any division of it. A leader and commander to the people. Is. lv. 4.
- noun An officer who ranks next below a captain, --ranking with a lieutenant colonel in the army.
Etymology [Cf. F. commandeur. Cf. Commodore, Commender.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “commander”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details