Admiral

See also: admiral, admirál, and admirał

English

Etymology

From Middle English admiral, admirel, admirail, from Old French amirail, amiral (modern amiral) and Medieval Latin admīrālis, amīrālis, both from Arabic أَمِير الْبَحْر (ʔamīr al-baḥr, “commander of the fleet”). Later associated with admirable. Akin to amir, Amir and emir.

First recorded in English September 1300, to refer to Gerard Allard of Winchelsea, referred to as “Admiral of the Fleet of the Cinque Ports”.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæd.mə.ɹəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæd.mɚl̩/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

Noun

Admiral (uncountable)

1. (military) A naval officer title

Anagrams

• amildar

German

Etymology

Borrowed from English admiral, from Middle English amiral, from Old French amirail, amiral, from Arabic أَمِير اَلبَحْر (ʔamīr al-baḥr, “commander of the fleet”, literally “sea commander”). Cognate with French amiral, etc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /admiˈʁaːl/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːl

Noun

Admiral m (strong, genitive Admirals, plural Admirale or Admiräle, feminine Admiralin)

1. admiral (male or of unspecified gender)

Declension

Declension of Admiral [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Admiral	die	Admirale, Admiräle
genitive	eines	des	Admirals	der	Admirale, Admiräle
dative	einem	dem	Admiral, Admirale1	den	Admiralen, Admirälen
accusative	einen	den	Admiral	die	Admirale, Admiräle

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• Flottillenadmiral (“commodore”)
• Generaladmiral
• Großadmiral
• Konteradmiral
• Vizeadmiral

Descendants

• → Polish: admirał
• → Slovene: admiral

Further reading

• “Admiral” in Duden online
• “Admiral” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache