Admiral

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Admiral \Ad"mi*ral\, n. [OE. amiral, admiral, OF. amiral,
     ultimately fr. Ar. am[imac]r-al-bahr commander of the sea;
     Ar. am[imac]r is commander, al is the Ar. article, and
     am[imac]r-al, heard in different titles, was taken as one
     word. Early forms of the word show confusion with L.
     admirabilis admirable, fr. admirari to admire. It is said to


     have been introduced into Europe by the Genoese or Venetians,
     in the 12th or 13th century. Cf. {Ameer}, {Emir}.]
     1. A naval officer of the highest rank; a naval officer of
        high rank, of which there are different grades. The chief
        gradations in rank are admiral, vice admiral, and rear
        admiral. The admiral is the commander in chief of a fleet
        or of fleets.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The ship which carries the admiral; also, the most
        considerable ship of a fleet.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Like some mighty admiral, dark and terrible, bearing
              down upon his antagonist with all his canvas
              straining to the wind, and all his thunders roaring
              from his broadsides.                  --E. Everett.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Zool.) A handsome butterfly ({Pyrameis Atalanta}) of
        Europe and America. The larva feeds on nettles.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Admiral shell} (Zool.), the popular name of an ornamental
        cone shell ({Conus admiralis}).
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Lord High Admiral}, a great officer of state, who (when this
        rare dignity is conferred) is at the head of the naval
        administration of Great Britain.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  admiral
       n 1: the supreme commander of a fleet; ranks above a vice admiral
            and below a fleet admiral [syn: {full admiral}]
       2: any of several brightly colored butterflies

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  ADMIRAL, officer. In some countries is the commander in chief of the naval
  forces. This office does not exist in the United States.
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  ADMIRAL, n.  That part of a war-ship which does the talking while the
  figure-head does the thinking.