# Military rankings **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2000, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300 "2000-07-12T13:11:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@Peppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peppy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/1 "2000-07-12T13:11:15Z")
i apologize in advance for this fairly broad question… but here goes… what are the origins of the different ranks in the military. ie. captain, colonel, admiral i guess this is more a question of word origins thanks ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/2 "2000-07-12T13:34:46Z")
**Captain** – > [@](#): > > Middle English _capitane_, from Middle French _capitain_, from Late Latin _capitaneus_, adjective & n., chief, from Latin _capit-_, _caput_ head – date: 14th century **Colonel** – > [@](#): > > Alteration of _coronel_, from Middle French, modification of Old Italian _colonnello_ column of soldiers, colonel, diminutive of _colonna_ column, from Latin _columna_ – date: 1548 **Admiral** – > [@](#): > > Middle English, from Middle French _amiral_ admiral & Medieval Latin _admiralis_ emir, _admirallus_ admiral, from Arabic _amIr-al-_ commander of the (as in _amIr-al-bahr_ commander of the sea) – date: 15th century It’s amazing what you can learn by picking up a dictionary (etymologies above from Merriam-Webster). I know there are a lot more ranks, but I think you can check them out for yourself – cutting, pasting and reformatting isn’t that much fun! ---
**Author:** ![Peppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@Peppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peppy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/3 "2000-07-12T14:07:23Z")
as per the first reply;; yup, my mistake. i should’ve checked the dictionary first before posting. sorry just didn’t clue in till reader tipped me off thanks ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/4 "2000-07-12T14:07:25Z")
Here’s some more. There may be some inaccuracies, but at least _I_ don’t have to look anything up.🙂 **Lietenant** - Means, basically, second in command, assistant. The lietenant was originally the man who helped the captain run the company (from the 16th century, the basic unit of warfare). **Major** - Short for Capitan Maior, Spanish for senior captain. Usualy referred to the most experienced captain in any regiment. **Colonel** - As far as I know, this does not refer to “column” but to “coronet”, or crown, a figurative or actual symbol of rank; I may be mistaken. **Brigadier General** - The commander of a brigade (today brigades are usually lead by colonels). **Major General** - Short for Segeant Major General (in case you were wondering why he was beneath the Lietenant General). **General** - from “general officer”. Simple as that. **General of the Armies** - At the beginning of WWII, the president wished to appoint the US’s first Marshal (a common European rank). Unfortunately, the leading candidate was General George Marshall. Military honor outweighed certain humerous possibilities, and so the title was changed. As for non-com and naval ranks, I have no idea. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/5 "2000-07-12T14:09:42Z")
No worries, **Peppy**. I hope you find what you’re after! ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/6 "2000-07-12T14:45:47Z")
I thought a “lieu tenant” was a place holder. ---
**Author:** ![jayron\_32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jayron\_32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayron_32)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/7 "2000-07-12T14:58:15Z")
WARNING: I HAVE NO MILITARY CONNECTION. THIS IS JUST STUFF I HAVE READ SOMEWHERE From what I understand about military rank, there were, historically, 5 basic ranks: private, seargent, captian, colonel, and general; basically each rank commanded a larger group of troops, the private of course commanded no troops. Additional ranks were added as it became apparent each needed “assisstants” for their jobs, thus the corporal assists the seargent, the lieutenant assists the captain, the lieutenant colonel assists the colonel and the lieutenant general assists the general. Then the assistants needed assistants, and the seargent major assists the lieutenant, the major assists the lieutenant colonel, and the major general assists the lieutenant general. Other ranks (PFC, Brig. Gen.) were added as needed. For the record, I had always heard that the Major was a shortened version of “major colonel” and that a seargent major was really a “major captain” except as an NCO, he has to be a seargent, not a captain. Could be wrong tho… ---
**Author:** ![Yosemite\_Joy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/13edae/32.png) [@Yosemite\_Joy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yosemite_Joy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/8 "2000-07-12T16:13:35Z")
NOT IN ORDER! Admiral-1.the commander in chief of a fleet 2. a naval officer (go figure) 3.a naval officer of high rank: the grades of the U.S. NAvy ae admiral, vice admiral, and rear admiral derived from some odd language meaning commander of the fleet. Ensign-1. U.S.Navy. The lowest commissioned officer, ranking next below a lieutenant, second grade, equal to a second lieutenant in the Army,derived from the name from the flag, to show leadership and honor Commander-U.s. Navy an officer ranking below a capt. and above LT.CMDR. Name taken from from a cheif officer of a medievil order of knights As for E-6 and below: Seaman- obviously “Sea Man” (E-1-E-3) Petty Officer (E-4-E-6)- an enlistd man inthe navy holding an official rank corresponding to that of a non commissioned officer in the army. A literal “Petty” Officer Chief Petty Officer- S/a/a but above E-6 below E-7 next in line is Senior Chief and Mater Chief of the Navy. After that is Flag officers and they are men/women who joined the Navy as enistedd and then after Master Chief switched to Officers They are: Warrant Officers- men holding one of four grades in the Navy ranking above enlisted men and below commissioneed officers. They are literatly “warranted officers” OK? OK! ---
**Author:** ![johnboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e47c2d/32.png) [@johnboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnboy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/9 "2000-07-12T16:29:28Z")
Officer rankin in the US Airforce, Army and Marines: General of the ( army, navy) (only in wartime) five stars General: 4 stars Liutenant General: 3 stars Major General: 2 stars Brigadier General: 1 star Colonel: Eagle Lt. Colonel: Silver oak leaf cluster Major: Gold Oak leaf cluster Captain: Two Silver bars 1st Lt.: one silver bar 2nd Lt. One gold bar As far as naval ranking goes, Their are five differnt ranking of Admiral (not sure about the order) and then Captain: 4 Stripes Commander: 3 stripes Lt. Commander: 2 wide and one narrow Stripe Liutenant: 2 stripes Liutenant Jr Grade: one wide, one narrow Ensign: one stripe. ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/10 "2000-07-12T17:31:08Z")
Here’s what I remember as being the structure in most of the British army regiments: Private, Lance Corporal, Corporal, Sergeant, Staff/Colour Sergeant, Company Sergeant-Major (WO2), Regimental Sergeant-Major (WO1), 2nd Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel, Brigadier, Major-General, Lieutenant-General, General, Field Marshall. OK, so it doesn’t answer the OP, but _someone_ might be interested. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/11 "2000-07-12T18:35:38Z")
> [@](#): > > General of the Armies - At the beginning of WWII, the president wished to appoint the US’s first Marshal (a common European rank). Unfortunately, the leading candidate was General George Marshall. Military honor outweighed certain humerous possibilities, and so the title was changed. Cute story, but the first (and only) U.S. General of the Armies was John Pershing during WWI. It was meant to be a rank above a 5-star general (aka General of the Army). Pershing only wore five stars in any case. ---
**Author:** ![jayron\_32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jayron\_32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayron_32)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/12 "2000-07-12T19:37:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Cute story, but the first (and only) U.S. General of the Armies was John Pershing during WWI. It was meant to be > a rank above a 5-star general (aka General of the Army). Pershing only wore five stars in any case. Actually, before Pershing, the highest rank in the U.S. Army was “General;” the 4-star variety. Pershing was created “General of the Armies” so that he would be equivalent to the European “Field Marshall” and would thus not be outranked by European commanders of supposedly equivalent importance. If you look at \*\* android’s\*\* list of British ranks, you see that there are 5 classes of General Officer. Before Pershing, the U.S. only had 4 classes of General Officer. He was apparently offered a 5th star, but declined to wear one. In the U.S. only 9 men have ever worn 5 stars (though they filled 10 positions). They were all but three created towards the end of WWII to recognize generals and admirals who had achieved a higher level of importance in the campaigns. The ranks of “General of the Army” and “Admiral of the Navy” were created in December, 1944 and first awarded to George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower and Henry Arnold in the Army (Arnold was the head of the Army Air Corp, an important point below), and Wiliam Lehey, Ernest King and Chester Nimitz in the Navy. William Halsey was made a 5-star Admiral in December, 1945. Upon the creation of the Air Force in June, 1949 Henry Arnold was named “General of the Air Force”, the Air Force’s only 5-star general and the only man to be a 5-star officer in two brances of the service. Omar Bradley was named the nations last 5-star General in September, 1950. He was also the last living 5-star general, having died in 1981. Since 1950, no one has been named to that rank, even though it is still an official “rank” A list of supreme U.S. commanders (those of 5 stars) is listed at: > **[Highest-Ranking Officers in U.S. History](https://www.infoplease.com/us/military/highest-ranking-officers-us-history)** > > General and Commander-in-Chief1 General George Washinton. Source: Library of Congress.George Washington (1732?1799), b. Westmoreland County, Va., unanimously voted by Congress on June 15, 1775, to the rank of general and commander-in-chief (of the... ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/13 "2000-07-12T22:52:00Z")
No one has bothered to give a link to [what an obscure columnist said](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_325a.html) on this topic. I should also note that at one time, the US Army had the rank of **ensign** for the lowest officer rank. I think this was before they created the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. Anyone know the history of this? ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/14 "2000-07-12T23:15:23Z")
And in Nelson’s Navy, the ranks were: Midshipman, Lieutenant, Commander\*, Captain, Commodore\*, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, Admiral. The starred items are temporary courtesy ranks. A commander is just a lieutenant placed in command of a vessel, and a commodore a captain placed in charge of several ships, both usually for a single voyage. The fleet was divided into three squadrons, White, Blue, and Red, each of which had the three admirals. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-rankings/25300/15 "2000-07-13T03:57:30Z")
Also: Depending on linguistic/military tradition, you may have ended up in the same place by different routes: In some Central European countries you have General Officer Ranks that match exactly the Field Officer ranks – Colonel General, Lieutenant (Colonel) General, Major General. These armies do _not_ have a Brigadier/BG rank. In countries with a Latin tradition, you have General and Lieutenant General, in their case deriving from Captain-General (which was just the title of the Supreme Commander) but then the next ranks are called “Division General” and “Brigade General”; some like France actually designate the upper ranks as “Army General” and “Corps General”. In some countries (mostly Latin, but including Ireland), the usual title of the rank between Captain and LTCOL is Commander, but in some latin lands you also see Major, from the old Capitán-mayor. Mexico, interestingly, has kept both Capitan-mayor _as well_ as the modern rank of Major. The RAF were just Brit enough to see it fit to take their job descriptions and turn them into “ranks” (Group Captain, Squadron Leader, Pilot Officer…) And of course, whoever aided _your_ emerging country to organize its army, that’s the system you’re gonna use whether they make sense or not. jrd