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 of admiral
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
OTHER WORDS FROM admiral
ad·mi·ral·ship, nounWords nearby admiral
Example sentences from the Web for admiral
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 British
the master of a fishing fleet
any of various nymphalid butterflies, esp the red admiral or white admiral
Derived forms of admiral
admiralship, nounWord Origin for admiral
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