different between commander vs chieftain

English

Etymology

From Middle English comaundour, commaunder, comaunder, borrowed from Old French comandeor, cumandeur, from comander. See command.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /k??mænd?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /k??m??nd?/
• (Northern England) IPA^(key): /k??mand?/

Noun

commander (plural commanders)

1. One who exercises control and direction of a military or naval organization.
2. A naval officer whose rank is above that of a lieutenant commander and below that of captain.
3. One who exercises control and direction over a group of persons.
4. A designation or rank in certain non-military organizations such as NASA and various police forces.
5. (obsolete) The chief officer of a commandry.
6. A heavy beetle or wooden mallet, used in paving, in sail lofts, etc.
7. A rank within an honorary order: e.g. Commander of the Legion of Honour.
8. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genus Moduza.

Derived terms

• commanderless
• commanderlike
• commanderly

Translations

French

Etymology

From Old French comander, from Vulgar Latin *command?re, from Latin commend?re, present active infinitive of commend?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?.m??.de/
• Homophones: commandai, commandé, commandée, commandées, commandés, commandez

Verb

commander

1. to order (tell someone to do something)
2. to order (ask for a product)

Conjugation

Derived terms

• commandeur
• commandement

Related terms

• commande

Descendants

• ? Romanian: comanda

Further reading

• “commander” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From Middle English cheveteyn, cheftayne, from Old French chevetaine, from Late Latin capitaneus (English captain), from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput- (English head). Doublet of captain.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?i?f.t?n/, /?t?i?f.t?n/

Noun

chieftain (plural chieftains)

1. A leader of a clan or tribe.
2. (by extension) A leader of a group.

Synonyms

• (leader of a clan or tribe): chief, big gun, big shot, big wheel, bigwig, boss, employer, foreman, head, leader, mandarin, manager, mover and shaker, top banana, top dog, tycoon

Derived terms

• chieftainess

Translations

Scots

Etymology

From Early Scots chefftane, from Middle English cheftayne, from Old French chevetaine, from Late Latin capitaneus, from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [t?iften]

Noun

chieftain (plural chieftains)

1. chieftain
2. (possibly) schore; leader of a Highlands clan

References

• “chieftain” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.