Advertisement
lieutenancy (n.)
"office or authority of a lieutenant," mid-15c., from lieutenant + abstract noun suffix -cy.
Entries linking to lieutenancy
lieutenant (n.)late 14c., "one who takes the place of another," from Old French lieu tenant "substitute, deputy," literally "place holder" (14c.), from lieu "place" (see lieu) + tenant, present participle of tenir "to hold," from PIE root *ten- "to stretch." The notion is of a "substitute" for higher authority.
Specific military sense of "army officer next in rank to a captain and commanding the company in his absence" is from 1570s. Pronunciation with lef- is common in Britain, and spellings to reflect it date back to 14c., but the origin of this is a mystery (OED rejects suggestion that it comes from old confusion of -u- and -v-).
Specific military sense of "army officer next in rank to a captain and commanding the company in his absence" is from 1570s. Pronunciation with lef- is common in Britain, and spellings to reflect it date back to 14c., but the origin of this is a mystery (OED rejects suggestion that it comes from old confusion of -u- and -v-).
captaincy (n.)"rank or commission of a captain," 1818, from captain (n.) on the model of lieutenancy or some similar word where the -c- is etymologically justified. Earlier words in the same sense were captainry (1520s), captainship (mid-15c.).
Share lieutenancy
‘cite’
Page URL:
https://www.etymonline.com/word/lieutenancy
HTML Link:
<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/lieutenancy">Etymology of lieutenancy by etymonline</a>
APA style:
Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of lieutenancy. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved $(datetime), from https://www.etymonline.com/word/lieutenancy
Chicago style:
Harper Douglas, “Etymology of lieutenancy,” Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed $(datetime), https://www.etymonline.com/word/lieutenancy.
MLA style:
Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of lieutenancy.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/lieutenancy. Accessed $(datetimeMla).
IEEE style:
D. Harper. “Etymology of lieutenancy.” Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/lieutenancy (accessed $(datetime)).
Advertisement
Advertisement
Definitions of lieutenancy
lieutenancy (n.)
the position of a lieutenant;
Dictionary entries near lieutenancy
liege
lien
lieno-
lier
lieu
lieutenancy
lieutenant
life
life of Riley
lifeblood
life-boat