admiral

Alternative forms

• Admiral, Adm., Adm, adml., ADM
• (obsolete): admyralle, amyrall (to 1500s); admarall, admerell, admerolle, admirell, admyrell, amerall, ammyrall, amral, amrell, amrelle (1500s); admirail, admiralle, admyral, admyrall, amiral, amirall, ammiral (to 1600s); admeral, admerall, ammirall, admirant (1500s–1600s); amrall, ammirant (1600s); admirall (to 1700s); admirante (1600s–1700s); admirel (1700s)

Etymology

From Middle English admiral etc., from Anglo-Norman and Old French admiral etc., from Medieval Latin admiralis, admirallus, and admiralius, from irregular modification of amiralis etc. under the influence of the prefix ad- and particularly admiror (“to admire, respect”), from Arabic أَمِير (ʔamīr, “commander”) + -alis (“-al”). The ending is frequently but mistakenly folk etymologized to derive from the article ال (al-), particularly in Arabic أَمِير اَلبَحْر (ʔamīr al-baḥr, “commander of the sea”), first attested as a Fatimid office, or in Arabic أَمِير الْمُؤْمِنِين (ʔamīr al-muʔminīn, “Commander of the Believers, caliph”). It seems instead to have been borrowed from modification of only the first term in Arabic أَمِير الْأُمَرَاء (ʔamīr al-ʔumarāʔ, “emir of emirs, commander-in-chief”) as used as a title for important commanders in Norman Sicily in the mid-12th century. First attested as an English rank in reference to Gervase Alard of Winchelsea as "admiral of the fleet of the Cinque Ports".^[1] Doublet of emir, amir, Amir, and amira.

Pronunciation

• (UK, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈædməɹəl/, /ˈædmɹəl/, /ˈædməɹl/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈædməɹəl/, /ˈædmɚəl/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Hyphenation: ad‧mir‧al

Noun

admiral (plural admirals)

2. (military, now informal) The commander of a naval squadron or fleet, regardless of formal rank. [1429]
4. (military) The appointed commander of a navy, regardless of formal title. [1440]
6. (military) A high rank in the British and American Navies, NATO grade OF-9, equivalent ranks in other navies, in coast guards, etc.
   • 1776 September 4, John Paul Jones, letter to Robert Morris:

     ... from my experience in Ours as well as from my former intimacy with many Officers of Note in the British Navy, I am convinced that the Parity of Rank between Sea & land or Marine Officers, is of more consequence to the harmony of the Service, than hath generally been imagined. — in the British Establishment — an Admiral ranks with a Genl a Vice Admiral with a Lieut Genl a Rear Admiral with a Major Genl a Commodore with a Brigadier Genl — a Captain with a Colonel, a master & Commander with a Lieut Colnel — a Lieut. Commanding with a Major, and a Lieutenant in the Navy Ranks with a Captain of Horse, Foot or Marines. — I propose not our Enemies as an Example for our Genl imitation — Yet as their Navy is the best regulated of any in the World, we must in Some degree imitate them and Aim at such further improvement as may one day make ours Vie with and Exceed theirs.

   • 1836 March 17, 'Candor', "The Navy", Army and Navy Chronicle, Vol. II, No. 11, p. 173:

     He has appealed to the navies of Europe to prove, that we ought to have Admirals; then, of course he is willing, or at least ought to be so, to let their rules govern in promoting to that grade. The general principle which governs the navies of the old world is... when the Post is attained, then promotion is by inheritance... If a Post Captain in the English navy lives long enough, he is certain of being an Admiral, though not before he is sixty years of age... Hence it is manifest that the public interest no more requires the new grade of Admiral to be added to the navy, than it does the bestowing of orders of nobility on all the diplomatic agents, who represent the United States at the different courts of Europe.

8. The commander of a fishing or merchant fleet, particularly (historical, Canada) a captain granted special privileges in exchange for bringing the first ship of a given fishing season to certain harbors in Newfoundland. [1589]
10. (zoology) Any of several species of nymphalid butterflies of the genera Kaniska, Limenitis and Vanessa. [1799]
11. (conchology) The shell of the Conus ammiralis; the cone shells of various other species displaying similarly intricate banding. [1752]
13. (now historical) Synonym of flagship: an admiral's ship in a fleet, the command or largest ship in a naval or commercial fleet. [1557]
14. (now historical, uncommon) Synonym of emir, a Muslim commander or prince. [c. 1275]
    • 2004, Howard Mancing, The Cervantes Encyclopedia, volume I, page 373:

      The Saracen admiral, Balán... held court in the Castillo de Aguas Muertas...

15. (botany, obsolete) Any of several varieties of pear, the trees which produce them. [1693]

References

• “admiral, n.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.
• “admiral, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• J.D. Latham (Spring 1972), "Arabic into Medieval Latin", Journal of Semitic Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 40–41.
• David Abulafia (2012), The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean, pp. 321–322.

Anagrams

• amildar

Etymology

Borrowed from English admiral.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔadmiˈɾal/ [ʔɐd̪.mɪˈɾ̪al̪]
• Hyphenation: ad‧mi‧ral

Noun

admirál (Badlit spelling ᜀᜇ᜔ᜋᜒᜇᜎ᜔)

1. (military) admiral

Alternative forms

• amberal

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch admiraal, from Middle Dutch ammirael under influence from Latin admīrārī (“to admire, to respect”), from Old French amiral, from Latin amiralis, from Arabic أَمِير (ʔamīr, “commander”) + -alis (“-al”). Equivalent to amir +‎ bahar.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /adˈmiral/ [at̪̚ˈmi.ral]
• Rhymes: -iral
• Syllabification: ad‧mi‧ral

Noun

admiral

1. admiral

   Synonym: laksamana

Further reading

• “admiral” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman and Old French admiral etc., from Medieval Latin admiralis, admirallus, and admiralius, from irregular modification of amiralis etc. under the influence of the prefix ad- and particularly admirari (“to admire, to respect”), from Arabic أَمِير (ʔamīr, “commander”) + -alis (“-al”).

Noun

admiral (plural admirals)

1. Alternative form of amiral, emir or admiral.

References

• “admiral, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Etymology

From Old French admiral, from Medieval Latin admiralis, from Arabic أَمِير (ʔamīr, “commander”) + -alis (“-al”) under influence from admīrārī (“to admire, to respect”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /admɪˈrɑːl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːl
• Hyphenation: ad‧mi‧ral

Noun

admiral m (definite singular admiralen, indefinite plural admiraler, definite plural admiralene)

1. (military, nautical) an admiral (a naval officer of the highest rank; the commander of a country's naval forces)
   • 1920, Jonas Lie, Samlede Digterverker VI, page 181:

     kommandøren og admiralen

     the commander and the admiral

   • 2015 January 12, NTBtekst:

     admiral Haakon Bruun-Hanssen har vært norsk forsvarssjef i noe over ett år

     Admiral Haakon Bruun-Hanssen has been Norwegian Chief of Defense for a little over a year

   • 2011 December 30, Dagsavisen‎^{[dagsavisen.no]}:

     den iranske marinens nestkommanderende, admiral Mahmoud Moussavi

     the Deputy Commander of the Iranian Navy, Admiral Mahmoud Moussavi

2. (historical) a commander-in-chief of a collection of ships belonging to an admiralty
3. (zoology) the red admiral (a bright red and black butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) of the family Nymphalidae)

   Synonym: admiralsommerfugl

   • 2012, Stig Aasvik, Indre anliggender:

     her om dagen så jeg en admiral på byen, den hadde forvillet seg inn i en bakgård på Grünerløkka

     the other day I saw an admiral in the city, it had strayed into a backyard on Grünerløkka

References

• “admiral” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “admiral” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “admiral” in Store norske leksikon
• “admiral (sommerfugl)” in Store norske leksikon

Etymology

From Old French admiral, from Medieval Latin admiralis, from Arabic أَمِير (ʔamīr, “commander”) + -alis (“-al”) under influence from admīrārī (“to admire, to respect”).

Noun

admiral m (definite singular admiralen, indefinite plural admiralar, definite plural admiralane)

1. (military, nautical) an admiral

References

• “admiral” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin admiralis, from Arabic أَمِير (ʔamīr, “commander”) + -alis (“-al”) under influence from admīrārī (“to admire, to respect”).

Noun

admiral oblique singular, m (oblique plural admiraus or admirax or admirals, nominative singular admiraus or admirax or admirals, nominative plural admiral)

1. (Anglo-Norman) Alternative form of amiral

References

• admiral in Anglo-Norman Dictionary, Aberystwyth University, 2022

Etymology

Via variants influenced by Latin admīrārī (“to admire, to respect”).

Noun

admiral m (plural admirali)

1. Obsolete form of amiral.

References

• admiral in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Etymology

From Arabic اَمِير (amīr, “commander”) + -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /admǐraːl/
• Hyphenation: ad‧mi‧ral

Noun

admìrāl m (Cyrillic spelling адмѝра̄л)

1. admiral

Etymology

From German Admiral, from English admiral, from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, and Old French admiral, from Medieval Latin admiralis, from Arabic أَمِير (ʔamīr, “commander”) + -alis (“-al”) under influence from admīrārī (“to admire, to respect”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aːl (ál) (non-tonal)
• Hyphenation: ad‧mi‧r‧al

Noun

admirȃl m anim

1. Admiral, a naval officer of the highest rank, above vice admiral.
2. (zoology) Vanessa atalanta, a type of butterfly.
3. An Opel car model.

Further reading

• “admiral”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Etymology

Borrowed from English admiral. Doublet of almirante.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔadmiɾal/ [ˌʔad̪.mɪˈɾal]
• Rhymes: -admiɾal
• Syllabification: ad‧mi‧ral

Noun

ádmirál (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜇ᜔ᜋᜒᜇᜎ᜔)

1. (military) admiral

   Synonyms: almirante, laksamana

References

• “admiral”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2024
• “admiral”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• “admiral”, in Pinoy Dictionary, 2010–2025