Lieutenant Definition

lo͝o-tĕnənt
noun
A commissioned rank in the US Navy or Coast Guard that is above lieutenant junior grade and below lieutenant commander.
American Heritage
A first lieutenant.
American Heritage
A second lieutenant.
American Heritage
A title used in addressing a first lieutenant or second lieutenant.
Webster's New World
An officer ranking below a captain as in a police or fire department.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
adjective
A military grade that is junior to the grade the adjective modifies: lieutenant colonel, lieutenant general, lieutenant commander.
Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Lieutenant

Noun

Singular:
lieutenant
Plural:
lieutenants

Origin of Lieutenant

  • Middle English deputy from Old French lieu place lieu tenant present participle of tenir to hold (from Latin tenēre ten- in Indo-European roots)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Middle French lieutenant, from lieu (“place") + tenant (“holding").

    From Wiktionary

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