Home Article Category Current events

Admiral

For other uses, see Admiral (disambiguation).
Navies Armies Air forces
Commissioned officers
Admiral of
the fleet		 Field marshal or
General of the Army		 Marshal of
the air force
Admiral General Air chief marshal
Vice admiral Lieutenant general Air marshal
Rear admiral Major general Air vice-marshal
Commodore Brigadier or
brigadier general		 Air commodore
Captain Colonel Group captain
Commander Lieutenant colonel Wing commander
Lieutenant
commander		 Major or
Commandant		 Squadron leader
Lieutenant Captain Flight lieutenant
Lieutenant
junior grade or
sub-lieutenant		 Lieutenant or
first lieutenant		 Flying officer
Ensign or
midshipman		 Second lieutenant Pilot officer
Officer cadet Officer cadet Flight cadet
Enlisted grades
Master chief petty officer
of the navy		 Sergeant major
of the army		 Chief master sergeant
of the air force
Warrant officer or
master chief petty officer		 Warrant officer or
sergeant major or
command sergeant major		 Warrant officer or
chief master sergeant
Petty officer or
chief petty officer		 Sergeant or
staff sergeant or
gunnery sergeant or
master sergeant		 Sergeant or
staff sergeant or
technical sergeant or
master sergeant
Leading seaman Corporal or
bombardieror
specialist		 Corporal or
senior airman
Seaman or
seaman recruit or
seaman apprentice		 Private or
gunner or
trooper		 Aircraftman or
airman or
airman basic
Talk·View
Naval officer ranks
Flag officers
Senior officers
Junior officers

Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies, and in many navies is the highest rank. It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM". The rank is generally thought to have originated in Sicily from a conflation of Arabic: أمير البحر‎, amīr al-baḥr, "commander of the sea", with Latin admirabilis[1] ("admirable") or admiratus ("admired"), although alternative etymologies derive the word directly from Latin, or from the Turkish military and naval rank miralay. The French version – amiral without the additional d – tends to add evidence for the Arab origin.

In the Commonwealth and the U.S., a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet (or fleet admiral). In NATO, admirals have a rank code of OF-9 as a four-star rank.

Etymology[]

The word admiral in Middle English comes from Anglo-French amiral, "commander", from Medieval Latin admiralis, admirallus. These themselves come from Arabic amīr, or amīr al- (أمير الـ), "commander of", as in amīr al-baḥr (أمير البحر), "commander of the sea".[2] The term was in use for the Greco-Arab naval leaders of Norman Sicily, which had formerly been ruled by Arabs, at least by the early 11th century.

The Norman Roger II of Sicily (1095–1154), employed a Greek Christian known as George of Antioch, who previously had served as a naval commander for several North African Muslim rulers. Roger styled George in Abbasid fashion as Amir of Amirs, i.e. "Commander of Commanders", with the title becoming Latinized in the 13th century as ammiratus ammiratorum.[3]

The Sicilians and later Genoese took the first two parts of the term and used them as one word, amiral, from their Aragon opponents.[4] The French and Spanish gave their sea commanders similar titles while in Portuguese the word changed to almirante.[5] As the word was used by people speaking Latin or Latin-based languages it gained the "d" and endured a series of different endings and spellings leading to the English spelling admyrall in the 14th century[6] and to admiral by the 16th century.[7]

Further history[]

The word "admiral" has today come to be almost exclusively associated with the highest naval rank in most of the world's navies, equivalent to the army rank of (full) general. However, this wasn't always the case; for example, in some European countries prior to the end of World War II, admiral was the third highest naval rank after general admiral and grand admiral.[8]

The rank of admiral has also been subdivided into various grades, several of which are historically extinct while others remain in use in most present day navies. The Royal Navy used colours (red, white, and blue, in descending order) to indicate seniority of its admirals until 1864; for example, Horatio Nelson's highest rank was vice admiral of the white. The generic term for these naval equivalents of army generals is flag officer.[9] Some navies have also used army-type titles for them, such as the Cromwellian "general at sea".[10]

Admiral insignia by country[]

The rank insignia for an admiral often involves four stars or similar devices and/or 3 stripes over a broad stripe, but as one can see below, there are many cases where the insignia do not involve four stars or similar devices.

National ranks[]

Australia[]

Main article: Admiral (Australia)

Canada[]

Main article: Admiral (Canada)

Germany[]

Main article: Admiral (Germany)

Admiral is a German Navy OF-9 four-star flag officer rank, equivalent to the German Army and German Air Force rank of General.

Japan[]

Post-WWII rank is Bakurocho taru kaishō or Admiral serve as Chief of Staff, Joint Staff（幕僚長たる海将） with limited function as an advisory staff to Minister of Defense (Japan), compared to Gensui (Imperial Japanese Navy) during 1872–1873 and 1898–1945,.

Netherlands[]

Main article: Admiral (Netherlands)

Russia[]

Main article: Admiral (Russia)

Spain[]

Main article: Admiral of Castile

Admiral of Castile was a post with a long and important history in Spain.

Sweden[]

Main article: Admiral (Sweden)

United Kingdom[]

Main article: Admiral (United Kingdom)

United States[]

Main article: Admiral (United States)

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Chief of Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and Chief of Staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

References[]

  1. ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". etymonline.com. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  2. ^ "Definition of ADMIRAL". Merriam-Webster.
  3. ^ David Abulafia (2011). The Great Sea: A Human History of the Merranean. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0-7139-9934-1.
  4. ^ Harry Thurston Peck; Selim Hobart Peabody; Charles Francis Richardson, eds. (1899) [1885]. The International Cyclopedia: A Compendium of Human Knowledge. 1. Dodd, Mead & Co. p. 103.
  5. ^ Antonio Vieyra (1851). A dictionary of the English and Portuguese languages. 2. p. 48.
  6. ^ The English Charlemagne Romances: The Boke of Duke Huon de Bordeaux. 1534. p. 143.
  7. ^ John Ehrman (2011) [1953]. The Navy in the War of William III 1689-1697: Its State and Direction. Cambridge University Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-107-64511-0.
  8. ^ Erich Raeder (2001). Grand Admiral (1st ed.). Da Capo Press. p. 430. ISBN 0306809621.
  9. ^ Brian Lavery (2003). Horatio Lord Nelson. Trustees of the National Maritime Museum. p. 139. ISBN 0-8147-5190-3.
  10. ^ William Hepworth Dixon (1885). Robert Blake, Admiral and General at Sea: Based on Family and State Papers. Ballantyne Press.

External links[]