Admiral

For other uses, see Admiral (disambiguation).

See also: Admiralty

Common military ranks in English
Navies	Armies	Air forces
Commissioned officers
Admiral of the fleet	Marshal or Field marshal	Marshal of the air force
Admiral	General	Air chief marshal
Vice admiral	Lieutenant general	Air marshal
Rear admiral	Major general	Air vice-marshal
Commodore	Brigadier or Brigadier general	Air commodore
Captain	Colonel	Group captain
Commander	Lieutenant colonel	Wing commander
Lieutenant commander	Major or Commandant	Squadron leader
Lieutenant	Captain	Flight lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant	Lieutenant or First lieutenant	Flying officer
Ensign	Second lieutenant	Pilot officer
Midshipman	Officer cadet	Officer cadet
Enlisted grades
Warrant officer or Chief petty officer	Warrant officer or Sergeant major	Warrant officer
Petty officer	Sergeant	Sergeant
Leading seaman	Corporal	Corporal
Seaman	Private	Aircraftman

Naval officer ranks
Flag officers:
Admiral of the fleet • Fleet admiral • Grand admiral Admiral • General admiral Vice admiral • Squadron vice-admiral • Lieutenant admiral Rear admiral • Counter admiral • Divisional admiral Commodore • Flotilla admiral
Senior officers:
Captain • Captain at sea • Captain of sea and war • Ship-of-the-line captain Commander • Frigate captain Lieutenant commander • Corvette captain
Junior officers:
Captain lieutenant • Lieutenant • Ship-of-the-line lieutenant Frigate lieutenant • Lieutenant (junior grade) • Sub-lieutenant Corvette lieutenant • Ensign Midshipman

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM".

The rank is generally thought to have originated in Sicily from a conflation of Arabic: أمير البحر‎‎, amīr al-baḥr, "commander of the sea", with Latin admirabilis ("admirable") or admiratus ("admired"), although alternative etymologies derive the word directly from Latin, or from the Turkish military and naval rank miralay.

In the Commonwealth and the U.S., a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet (or fleet admiral). In NATO, admirals have a rank code of OF-9.

Etymology

The word "admiral" in Middle English comes from Anglo-French amiral, "commander", from Medieval Latin admiralis, admirallus. These themselves come from Arabic "amīr", or amīr al- (أمير الـ), "commander of", as in amīr al-baḥr (أمير البحر), "commander of the sea". Crusaders learned the term during their encounters with the Muslim Arabs, perhaps as early as the 11th century.

The Norman Roger II of Sicily (1095–1154), employed a Greek Christian known as George of Antioch, who previously had served as a naval commander for several North African Moslem rulers. Roger styled George in Abbasid fashion as "Amir of Amirs", i.e. "Commander of Commanders", with the title becoming Latinized in the 13th century as "ammiratus ammiratorum".

The Sicilians and later Genoese took the first two parts of the term and used them as one word, amiral, from their Aragon opponents. The French and Spanish gave their sea commanders similar titles while in Portuguese the word changed to almirante. 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 "admyrall" in the 14th century and to "admiral" by the 16th century.

The word "admiral" has today come to be almost exclusively associated with the highest naval rank in most of the world's navies, equivalent to the army rank of (full) general. However, this wasn't 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 colours (red, white, and blue, in descending order) to indicate seniority of its admirals until 1864; for example, Horatio Nelson'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".

Further history

The Sicilians use was followed by the Genoese. The Spanish and Portuguese used the word almirante. 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 "admyrall" in the 14th century and to "admiral" by the 16th century.

The word "admiral" has today come to be almost exclusively associated with the highest naval rank in most of the world's navies, equivalent to the army rank of (full) general. However, this wasn't 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 colours (red, white, and blue, in descending order) to indicate seniority of its admirals until 1864; for example, Horatio Nelson'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".

Admiral insignia by country

The rank insignia for an admiral often involves four stars and/or 3 stripes/rings over a broad stripe/ring, but as one can see below, there are many cases where the insignia do not involve four stars.

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  Almirante
  Argentine Navy

• 

  Admiral
  Royal Australian Navy

• 

  Admiral
  Royal Canadian Navy

• 

  Almirante
  Chilean Navy

• 

  Almirante
  Ecuadorian Navy

• 

  فريق أول
  Egyptian Navy

• 

  Admiral
  Estonian Navy

• 

  Amiral
  French Navy

• 

  Návarchos
  Hellenic Navy

• 

  Admiral
  Indian Navy

• 

  Laksamana
  Indonesian Navy

• 

  Ammiraglio
  Italian Navy

• 

  Kaishō
  Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

• 

  Almirante
  Mexican Navy

• 

  Admirał
  Polish Navy

• 

  Almirante
  Portuguese Navy

• 

  Amiral
  Romanian Naval Forces

• 

  Amiral
  Romanian Naval Forces

• 

  Адмиралъ
  Imperial Russian Navy

• 

  Адмирал
  Russian Navy

• 

  فريق أول
  Royal Saudi Navy

• 

  Almirante
  Armada Española

• 

  Amiral
  Royal Swedish Navy

• 

  พลเรือเอก
  Royal Thai Navy

• 

  Oramiral
  Turkish Navy

• 

  Адмірал
  Ukrainian Navy

• 

  Admiral
  Royal Navy

• 

  Admiral
  Royal Navy

• 

  Admiral
  U.S. Navy

• 

  Đô đốc
  Vietnam People's Navy

• 

  دریابد
  Islamic Republic of Iran Navy

• 

  دریابد
  Imperial Iranian Navy

• 

  Admiral
  Pakistan Navy

National ranks

Australia

Main article: Admiral (Australia)

Canada

Main article: Admiral (Canada)

France

Main article: Admiral of France

Germany

Admiral is a German Navy OF-9 four-star flag officer rank, equivalent to the German Army and German Air Force rank of General.

See also

Main articles: Admiral (Germany) and Rank insignia of the German Bundeswehr

Netherlands

Main article: Admiral (Netherlands)

Russia

Main article: Admiral (Russia)

Spain

Admiral of Castile was a post with a long and important history in Spain.

Main article: Admiral of Castile

Sweden

Main article: Admiral (Sweden)

United Kingdom

Main article: Admiral (United Kingdom)

United States

Main article: Admiral (United States)

See also

• Comparative military ranks
• Laksamana, native title for naval leaders in Indonesia and Malaysia
• Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies
• Nebraska admiral

References

• Abulafia, David (2011) The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean. (London: Allen Lane). ISBN 978-0-7139-9934-1