commander in chief
noun1
Supreme commander of the armed forces of an entire country.
- For, [Scipio] being Commaunder in chiefe, ouer an Armie; (Latin original: praeesse autem suo nomine exercitui)c. 1600, Clement Edmundes, Observations vpon Caesars Comentaries, page 175:
- The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.1787, Philadelphia Convention, “Article II, Section 2”, in Constitution of the United States of America, Philadelphia:
- Related terms
- chain of command, chief of staff, shogun, generalissimo