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:
- police lieutenant
- deputy
- shavetail
- 90-day-wonder
- looie
- commissioned-officer
- fighter
- leader
- platoon leader
- soldier
- military man
- navy officer
- army officer
- officer
- marine officer
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:
lieutenantPlural:
lieutenantsOrigin 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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