Wordwyrt

admiral

/ˈædməəl/AD-mur-uhl
/ˈædmɚəl/AD-mur-uhl

Meaningcommander, emir

Common meaning: a senior naval commander

Journey through time

  1. Arabicamīr‘a commander’source
  2. Old Frenchmeaning shiftsa commander → amiralamirail‘amiral’source
  3. Middle Englishadmiralsource
  4. Englishmeaning shiftsamiral → a senior naval commanderadmiral‘a senior naval commander’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Arabic amīr ‘commander, emir’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry ADMIRAL, p. 8 · dictionary scan

Roots

  • amīr Arabic “commander, emir”

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