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admiral

Syllabification: (ad·mi·ral)

Pronunciation: /ˈadmərəl/

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Definition of admiral

noun

1a commander of a fleet or naval squadron, or a naval officer of very high rank.
a commissioned officer of very high rank in the US Navy or Coast Guard, ranking above a vice admiral.
short for vice admiral or rear admiral.

2 [with modifier] a butterfly that has dark wings with bold colorful markings.
- Several species in the subfamilies Limenitidinae and Nymphalinae, family Nymphalidae. See red admiral, white admiral

Origin:

Middle English (denoting an emir or Saracen commander): from Old French amiral, admirail, via medieval Latin from Arabic ῾amīr 'commander' (from ῾amara 'to command'). The ending -al was from Arabic -al- in the sense 'of the' used in forming titles (e.g., ῾amīr-al-'umarā 'ruler of rulers'), later assimilated to the familiar Latinate suffix -al

admiral in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of admiral in the British & World English dictionary

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