Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some

navies A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

. In the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, or fleet admiral.

Etymology

The word in Middle English comes from Anglo-French , "commander", from Medieval Latin , . These evolved from the Arabic () – (), “ king, prince, chief, leader, nobleman, lord, a governor,

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

, or person who rules over a number of people,” and (), the Arabic article answering to “the.” In Arabic, admiral is also represented as (), where () means the

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

. The 1818 edition of

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

's ''

A Dictionary of the English Language ''A Dictionary of the English Language'', sometimes published as ''Johnson's Dictionary'', was published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson. It is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language. T ...

'', edited and revised by the Rev.

Henry John Todd Henry John Todd (1763–1845) was an English Anglican cleric, librarian, and scholar, known as an editor of John Milton. He was librarian at Lambeth Palace (1803), and examined and described manuscripts, chiefly biblical, which formerly belonge ...

, states that the term “has been traced to the Arab. emir or amir, lord or commander, and the Gr. , the sea, q. d. ''prince of the sea''. The word is written both with and without the d, in other languages, as well as our own. Barb. Lat. admirallus and amiralius. V. Ducange. Barb. Græc. ἄμηρχλιος. V. Meursii Gloss. Græco-Barbarum, edit. 1610. p. 29. Fr. admiral and amiral. Dan. the same. Germ. ammiral. Dutch, admirael or ammirael. Ital. ammiraglio. Sp. almirante. Minsheu, in his Spanish Dictionary, says ‘almiralle is a king in the Arabian language.’ Amrayl is used by Robert of Gloucester, in the sense of a prince, or governour.” The quote from John Minsheu’s Dictionarie in Spanish and English (1599), given in Johnson’s Dictionary, has been confirmed as being accurate. Additionally, the definition of Amīr (أمير), as given in Edward William Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon, concurs, in part, with Minsheu's definition, stating that the term means “One having, holding, or possessing, command; a commander; a governor; a lord; a prince, or king.” While other Greek words of the period existed to indicate “belonging to the sea,” or “of the sea,” the now obsolete Gr. mentioned in Johnson's Dictionary is expressly defined as "of the sea, Lat. marinus, epith. of sea-gods, nymphs, etc." Though there are multiple meanings for the Arabic Amīr (أمير), the literal meaning of the phrase Amīr al-Baḥr (أمير البحر) is “Prince of the Sea.” This position, versus “commander of the sea,” is demonstrated by legal practices prevailing in the Ottoman Empire, whereas it was only possible for Phanariots to qualify for attaining four princely positions, those being

grand dragoman The Dragoman of the Sublime Porte ( Ottoman Turkish: ; el, �έγαςδιερμηνέας της Υψηλής Πύλης), Dragoman of the Imperial Council (''tercümân-ı dîvân-ı hümâyûn''), or simply Grand or Chief Dragoman (''tercümân ...

, dragoman of the fleet, and the voivodees of Moldavia and Wallachia. Those Phanariots who attained the princely position of dragoman of the fleet served under the Ottoman admiral having administration of the Aegean islands and the Anatolian coast. Modern acknowledgement of the phrase Amīr al-Baḥr (أمير البحر) meaning “Prince of the Sea” includes a speech made in an official

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

ceremony conducted in an Arabic port, and a news article published by an Arabic news outlet: On 24 May 2012, in a change of command ceremony aboard

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

USS Enterprise (CVN 65) USS ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65), formerly CVA(N)-65, is a decommissioned United States Navy aircraft carrier. She was the first Nuclear marine propulsion, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth United States naval vessel to bear List of s ...

, while docked at Khalifa Bin Salman Port, Bahrain,

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

Gen.

James Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded forces in the Persian ...

, Commander,

U.S. Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...

, introduced Vice Admiral Mark I. Fox as “Admiral Fox, the prince of the sea, emir of the sea – to translate ‘admiral’ from the Arabic to English;” On 04 Feb 2021, in an announcement of his

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

-related death, the Arabic news website Saudi 24 News referred to Admiral Edmond Chagoury by the title “Prince of the Sea.” An alternate etymology proposes that the term admiral evolved, instead, from the title of Amīr al-Umarāʾ (أمير الأمراء‎). Under the reign of the Buyid dynasty (934 to 1062) of Iraq and Iran, the title of Amīr al-Umarāʾ, which means prince of princes, came to denote the heir-apparent, or crown prince. This alternate etymology states that the term was in use for the Greco-Arab naval leaders of

Norman Sicily Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, which had formerly been ruled by Arabs, at least by the early 11th century. During this time, the Norman

Roger II of Sicily Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Rog ...

(1095–1154) employed a Greek Christian, known as

George of Antioch George of Antioch ( gr, Γεώργιος Ἀντιοχείας, died 1151 or 1152) was the first to hold the office of '' ammiratus ammiratorum'' (emir of emirs) in the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. He was a Syrian-born Byzantine Christian of Gree ...

, who previously had served as a naval commander for several North African Muslim rulers. Roger styled George in Abbasid fashion as , or Amīr al-Umarāʾ, with the title becoming Latinized in the 13th century as . The Sicilians and later Genoese took the first two parts of the term and used them as one word, , from their

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

opponents. The

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Spanish gave their sea commanders similar titles while in Portuguese the word changed to . As the word was used by people speaking Latin or Latin-based languages it gained the "d" and endured a series of different endings and spellings leading to the English spelling in the 14th century and to ''admiral'' by the 16th century.

Further history

The word "admiral" has come to be almost exclusively associated with the highest

naval rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a ...

in most of the world's

, equivalent to the army rank of general. However, this was not always the case; for example, in some European countries prior to the end of World War II, admiral was the third highest naval rank after general admiral and grand admiral. The rank of admiral has also been subdivided into various grades, several of which are historically extinct while others remain in use in most present-day navies. The Royal Navy used the colours red, white, and blue, in descending order to indicate seniority of its admirals until 1864; for example,

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

's highest rank was vice-admiral of the white. The generic term for these naval equivalents of army generals is flag officer. Some navies have also used army-type titles for them, such as the Cromwellian "general at sea".

NATO code

While the rank of admiral is used in most of NATO countries, it is ranked differently depending on the country.

Admiral insignia by country

File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,

Albanian Navy The Albanian Naval Force ( sq, Forca Detare të Republikës së Shqipërisë) is the naval branch of the Albanian military. Their name was changed from the Albanian Naval Defense Forces in 2010. The Naval Force is headquartered in Durrës, and o ...

File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

File:Generic-Navy-12.svg, Admiral
Royal Australian Navy File:Azerbaijan-Navy-OF-8.svg,

Azerbaijani Navy The Azerbaijan Navy ( az, Azərbaycan Hərbi Dəniz Qüvvələri) is the naval component of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces operating in the Caspian Sea. History The inception of Azerbaijani Naval Forces dates back to August 5, 1919, when the gove ...

File:Generic-Navy-12.svg, Admiral
Bangladesh Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,

Belgian Navy File:Generic-Navy-(star)-O11.svg,

Bolivian Naval Force The Bolivian Navy ( es, Armada Boliviana) is a branch of the Armed Forces of Bolivia. As of 2008, the Bolivian Navy had approximately 5,000 personnel. Although Bolivia has been landlocked since the War of the Pacific and its 1904 peace treaty, Bo ...

File:Generic-Navy-13.svg,
Brazilian Navy File:Bulgaria-Navy-OF-9 sleeve.svg,

Bulgarian Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg, Admiral

Royal Canadian Navy File:Generic-Navy-(star)-O11.svg,
Chilean Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,
Colombian Navy File:18.DRCN-VADM.svg,
Navy of DR of Congo File:Rukav zimske odore admirala HRM.svg,
Croatian Navy File:Cuba-Navy-OF-8.svg,

Cuban Revolutionary Navy The Cuban Revolutionary Navy ( es, Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria) is the navy of Cuba. History The Constitutional Navy of Cuba was the navy of Cuba that existed prior to 1959. During World War II, it sank the German submarine ''U-176'' on 15 ...

File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,
Royal Danish Navy File:Generic-Navy-(star)-O11.svg,

Dominican Navy The Navy of the Dominican Republic ( es, Armada de Republica Dominicana (ARD)), is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force. History After the Dominican Republic gained i ...

File:Ecuador-Navy-OF-9.svg,

Ecuadorian Navy The Ecuadorian Navy ( es, Armada del Ecuador) is an Ecuadorian entity responsible for the surveillance and protection of national maritime territory and has a personnel of 9,127 men to protect a coastline of 2,237 km which reaches far into t ...

File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,
Estonian Navy File:Finland-Navy-OF-9.svg,
)
Finnish Navy File:France-Navy-OF-9 Sleeve.svg,
French Navy File:23.GN-ADM.svg,
Gabonese Navy File:Generic-Navy-(star)-O11.svg,
German Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg, Admiral
Ghana Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg, Admiral

Indian Navy File:Rank insignia of ammiraglio of the Italian Navy.svg,

Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

File:Ivory Coast-Navy-OF-9.svg,
Navy of Ivory Coast File:Russia-Navy-OF-8-Sleeve.svg,

Kazakh Naval Forces russian: Военно-морские силы Республики Казахстан , image =File:Emblem-vmsrk.svg , caption = Kazakh naval emblem , start_date = , country = , allegiance = , branch = Armed Forces of the Republic of Kaza ...

File:19. Madagascar Navy - ADM.svg,
Madagascar Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,
Mexican Navy File:Montenegro-Navy-OF-9.svg,

Montenegrin Navy The Montenegrin Navy ( Montenegrin: ''Mornarica Vojske Crne Gore'') is the naval branch of the military of Montenegro. The Montenegrin Navy was established in 2006 following the secession of Montenegro from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegr ...

File:Morocco-Navy-OF-9.svg,
Royal Moroccan Navy File:Mozambique-Navy-OF-9.svg,
Mozambique Naval Command File:Generic-Navy-12.svg, Admiral
Nigerian Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,
Royal Norwegian Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg, Admiral

Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...

File:Generic-Navy-(star)-O12.svg,

Paraguayan Navy The Paraguayan Navy ( es, Armada Paraguaya) is the maritime force of the Armed Forces of Paraguay, in charge of the defense of Paraguay's waters despite not having direct access to the sea. It has gone to war on two occasions: the War of th ...

File:Peru-Navy-OF-9.svg,

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy ( es, link=no, Marina de Guerra del Perú, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Addit ...

File:PN ADM BlkDr-Slv.svg, Admiral

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...

File:Poland-Navy-OF-9.svg,
Polish Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,
Portuguese Navy File:Romania-Navy-OF-9-Sleeve.svg,
Romanian Naval Forces File:Russia-Navy-OF-8-Sleeve.svg,

Russian Navy File:18-Serbian Navy-ADM.svg,

Serbian River Flotilla The Serbian River Flotilla ( sr, Речна флотила, Rečna flotila) is a tactical brigade-level brown water naval branch of the Serbian Armed Forces. Patroling on the Danube, Sava, and Tisa rivers, it is tasked with environmental polici ...

File:Generic-Navy-13.svg,

Slovenian Navy The Slovenian Navy, officially the 430th Naval Division is not a separate service, but an integral part of the Slovenian Armed Forces. History The Slovenian navy was created after independence in 1991, as the Territorial Defense Forces of Sloveni ...

File:Generic-Navy-12.svg, Admiral

South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prot ...

File:Spanish-Navy-OF9.svg,
Spanish Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg, Admiral
Sri Lanka Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...

File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,
)
Tunisia Navy File:Russia-Navy-OF-8-1994-everyday.svg,

Turkmen Naval Forces The Turkmen Naval Forces ( Turkmen: Türkmenistanyň Harby-deňiz Güýçleri) is the naval warfare branch of the armed forces of Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan's Navy Day is celebrated annually on October 9. The naval forces were directed by the ...

File:Ukraine-Navy-OF-9.svg,

Ukrainian Navy File:Generic-Navy-12.svg, Admiral
Royal Navy File:US Navy O10 insignia.svg, Admiral
United States Navy File:USCG O-10 insignia.svg, Admiral
United States Coast Guard File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,

National Navy of Uruguay The National Navy of Uruguay () is a branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay under the direction of the Ministry of National Defense and the commander in chief of the Navy (''Comandante en Jefe de la Armada'' or COMAR). History Independence Unde ...

File:Generic-Navy-12.svg,
Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela

National ranks

Admiral (Australia) Admiral (abbreviated as ADML) is the highest active rank of the Royal Australian Navy and was created as a direct equivalent of the British naval rank of admiral. It is a four-star rank. Since 1968, generally the only time the rank is held is ...

* Admiral (Bangladesh) *

Admiral (Canada) The rank of admiral in Canada is typically held by only one officer whose position is Chief of the Defence Staff and the senior uniformed officer of the Canadian Forces. It is equivalent to the army and air force rank of general. The last naval ...

Admiral (Denmark) is the highest rank of the Royal Danish Navy. As a four-star rank it is the equivalent to the rank of general in the Royal Danish Army and Air force. The rank is rated OF-9 within NATO. It has the grade of M406 within the Ministry of Defence's ...

* Admiral (Germany) * Admiral (India) *

Admiral (Netherlands) Admiral ( nl, Admiraal) is theoretically the highest possible military rank in the Royal Netherlands Navy, although no longer awarded. The admiral carries marshal bars as a distinguishing mark above the gold gallon and is therefore equivalent to ...

Admiral (Pakistan) Admiral (abbreviated as ADM) is a four-star commissioned armed flag officer rank and title in the Pakistan Navy, coast guards, and marines bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is the highest rank in Pakistan armed services, abov ...

* Admiral (Russia) * Admiral of Castile *

Admiral (Sri Lanka) The following tables present the ranks and insignia of the Sri Lanka Navy. These ranks are similar to Royal Navy officer rank insignia, Royal Naval officer ranks and the Royal Navy ratings rank insignia, ratings ranks. Sri Lanka does have an Admira ...

* Admiral (Sweden) * Admiral (United Kingdom) * Admiral (United States)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Naval ranks