|
|
Etymonline says:
"lieutenant:
c.1375, "one who takes the place of another," from O.Fr. lieu
tenant "substitute," lit. "placeholder," from lieu "place" + tenant,
prp. of tenir "to hold." The notion is of a "substitute" for higher
authority. Specific military sense of "officer next in rank to a
captain" is from 1578. Pronunciation with lef- is common in Britain,
and spellings to reflect it date back to 14c., but the origin of it is
mysterious."
In other words, the French word "lieu" means "place." Think of the
phrase, "...in lieu of."
The French word "tenant" means "holding."
So a lieutenant is holding someone's place (someone of higher
authority).
Meanwhile, in the US I have only ever heard the word pronounced
loo-TEN-ent.
-AS
|
Locked
