adjutant

noun, adj — 4 senses

adjutant

noun

/ˈæ.d͡ʒə.tənt/

Etymology Probably in part from Spanish ayudante and in part from Portuguese ajudante (“assistant, helper, aide”), nominal uses of present participial adjectives from respectively ayudar and ajudar, from Latin adiūtō (“to help, assist”), with remodeling after its present participle adiūtāns (acc. adiūtantem). The stork's name is derived from the military sense, owing to its marchlike stiff gait when on ground.

1

An assistant.

2

Government, Military, Politics, War A lower-ranking officer who assists a higher-ranking officer with administrative affairs.

3

Biology, Natural sciences, Zoology Either the greater or the lesser adjutant, stork species of the genus Leptoptilos, family Ciconiidae, native to India and Southeast Asia.

  • Aquatic birds of various kinds are very numerous, such as geese, darters (Plotus melanogaster), scissor-bills (Rhynchops nigra), adjutants (Leptoptilos argala), pelicans, cormorants, cranes (Grus antigone, in Burmese gyoja), whimbrels, plovers, and ibises.1876, "Burmah" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. IV, p. 552
Derived terms
adjutancy, adjutant bird, adjutant general, adjutant-general, adjutantship, adjutant stork, coadjutant, greater adjutant, lesser adjutant

adjutant

adj

Etymology Probably in part from Spanish ayudante and in part from Portuguese ajudante (“assistant, helper, aide”), nominal uses of present participial adjectives from respectively ayudar and ajudar, from Latin adiūtō (“to help, assist”), with remodeling after its present participle adiūtāns (acc. adiūtantem). The stork's name is derived from the military sense, owing to its marchlike stiff gait when on ground.

1

Assistant; who helps a higher-ranking officer.

  • adjutant officer
Synonyms
adj., adjt
Related terms
adjuvant, aid

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.