admiral

[ad-mer-uh l] /ˈæd mər əl/

noun

the commander in chief of a fleet.

a naval officer of the highest rank.

a naval officer of a high rank: the grades in the U.S. Navy are fleet admiral, admiral, vice-admiral, and rear admiral.

Obsolete. the flagship of an admiral.

British. a master who directs a fishing fleet.

any of several often brightly colored butterflies of the family Nymphalidae, as Vanessa atalanta (red admiral)

Origin

1175-1225; Middle English, variant of amiral < Old French < Arabic amīr al commander of the; -d- < Medieval Latin admīrābilis mundī for Arabic amīr al-mu'minīn commander of the faithful; or with replacement of a-⁵ by ad-, as in administer

Related forms

admiralship, noun

Examples from the web for admiral

Surviving crewmen remembered an admiral belittling their awards.

British Dictionary definitions for admiral

admiral

/ˈædmərəl/

noun

the supreme commander of a fleet or navy

Also called admiral of the fleet, fleet admiral. a naval officer of the highest rank, equivalent to general of the army or field marshal

a senior naval officer entitled to fly his own flag See also rear admiral, vice admiral

(mainly Brit) the master of a fishing fleet

any of various nymphalid butterflies, esp the red admiral or white admiral

Derived Forms

admiralship, noun

Word Origin

C13: amyral, from Old French amiral emir, and from Medieval Latin admīrālis (the spelling with d probably influenced by admīrābilis admirable); both from Arabic amīr emir, commander, esp in the phrase amīr-al commander of, as in amīr-al-bahr commander of the sea

Word Origin and History for admiral

c.1200, "Saracen commander," from Old French amirail (12c.) "Saracen military commander; any military commander," probably ultimately from Arabic title amir-ar-rahl "chief of the transport," officer in the Mediterranean fleet, from amir "leader;" influenced by Latin ad-mirabilis (see admire).

Italian form almiraglio, Spanish almirante are from confusion with Arabic words in al-. Meaning "highest-ranking naval officer" is from early 15c. As a type of butterfly, from 1720, possibly a corruption of admirable.