Editing Admiral (section)

==Etymology==
The word {{lang|enm|admiral}} in [[Middle English]] comes from [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-French]] {{lang|xno|amiral}}, "commander", from [[Medieval Latin]] {{lang|la|admiralis}}, {{lang|la|admirallus}}. These evolved from the [[Arabic]] {{lang|ar-Latn|amīral}} ({{lang|ar|أمير الـ}}) – {{lang|ar-Latn|[[Emir|amīr]]}} ({{lang|ar|أمير}}) {{IPA|[ʔmjr]}} ({{pronunciation|Q166382-ar.oga|listen|help=no}}), "[[king]], [[prince]], chief, leader, [[Nobility|nobleman]], [[lord]], a [[governor]], [[commander]], or person who rules over a number of people" and {{lang|ar-Latn|al}} ({{lang|ar|الـ}}), the [[Arabic definite article]] meaning "the." In Arabic, admiral is also represented as {{lang|ar-Latn|Amīr al-Baḥr}} ({{lang|ar|أمير البحر}}), where al-Baḥr (البحر) means the [[sea]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/admiral|title=Definition of ADMIRAL|date=16 July 2023 |dictionary=[[Merriam-Webster]]}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Catafago|first=Joseph|title=An English and Arabic Dictionary, In Two Parts, Arabic and English, and English and Arabic|publisher=Bernard Quaritch, Oriental and Philological Bookseller. London|year=1858|pages=26, 30, 324}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Lane|first=Edward William|title=Arabic-English Lexicon, in Eight Parts. Part 1|publisher=Librairie du Liban. Beirut, Lebanon|year=1968|pages=97}}</ref>

The 1818 edition of [[Samuel Johnson]]'s ''[[A Dictionary of the English Language]]'', edited and revised by the Rev. [[Henry Todd (priest)|Henry John Todd]], states that the term "has been traced to the Arab. emir or amir, lord or commander, and the [[Greek language|Gr]]. {{lang|el|ἄλιος}}, the sea, q. d. ''prince of the sea''. The word is written both with and without the d, in other languages, as well as our own. Barb. Lat. admirallus and amiralius. V. Ducange. Barb. Græc. ἄμηραλιος. V. Meursii Gloss. Græco-Barbarum, edit. 1610. p. 29. Fr. admiral and amiral. Dan. the same. Germ. ammiral. Dutch, admirael or ammirael. Ital. ammiraglio. Sp. almirante. Minsheu, in his Spanish Dictionary, says 'almiralle is a king in the Arabian language.' Amrayl is used by Robert of Gloucester, in the sense of a prince, or governour."<ref>{{Cite book|editor-last=Johnson|editor-first=Samuel and H. J. Todd|title="Definition of Admiral." A Dictionary of the English Language in which the words are deduced from their originals; and illustrated in their different significations, by examples from the best writers: together with A History of the Language, and an English Grammar. In Four Volumes. Vol. 1|publisher=Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. London|year=1818}}</ref>

The quote from [[John Minsheu]]'s Dictionarie in Spanish and English (1599), given in Johnson's Dictionary, has been confirmed as being accurate.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Minsheu|first=John|title=Dictionarie in Spanish and English|year=1599|pages=20}}</ref> Additionally, the definition of Amīr (أمير), as given in [[Edward William Lane]]'s [[Arabic-English Lexicon]], concurs, in part, with Minsheu's definition, stating that the term means "One having, holding, or possessing, command; a commander; a governor; a lord; a prince, or king."<ref name=":1" />

While other Greek words of the period existed to indicate "belonging to the sea," or "of the sea," the now obsolete Gr. {{lang|el|ἄλιος}} mentioned in Johnson's Dictionary is expressly defined as "of the sea, Lat. marinus, epith. of [[List of water deities|sea-gods]], [[nymph]]s, etc."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Liddell|first=Henry George and Robert Scott|title=Greek-English Lexicon. Seventh Edition|publisher=Harper & Brothers. New York|year=1883|pages=62}}</ref>

Though there are multiple meanings for the Arabic Amīr (أمير), the literal meaning of the phrase Amīr al-Baḥr (أمير البحر) is "Prince of the Sea."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khalilieh|first=Hassan S.|title="Glossary of Non-English Terms." Islamic Law of the Sea|publisher=Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK|year=2019|isbn=978-1-108-48145-8|pages=11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title="Definition of Admiral." Scottish National Dictionary (1700-)|url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/admiral|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202231114/https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/admiral|archive-date=2 December 2018|access-date=25 February 2021|website=Dictionaries of the Scots Language}}</ref> This position, versus "commander of the sea," is demonstrated by legal practices prevailing in the [[Ottoman Empire]], whereas it was only possible for [[Phanariots]] to qualify for attaining four princely positions, those being [[Dragoman of the Porte|grand dragoman]], [[Dragoman of the Fleet|dragoman of the fleet]], and the [[voivode]]es of [[Moldavia]] and [[Wallachia]]. Those Phanariots who attained the princely position of dragoman of the fleet served under the Ottoman admiral having administration of the [[Aegean Islands|Aegean islands]] and the Anatolian coast.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ágoston|first=Gábor and Bruce Masters|title=Encyclopedia of The Ottoman Empire|publisher=Facts on File Library of World History. New York|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8160-6259-1|pages=458}}</ref>

Modern acknowledgement of the phrase [[Amīr]]-al-Baḥr (أمير البحر) meaning "Prince of the Sea" includes a speech made in an official [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]] ceremony conducted in an Arabic port, and a news article published by an Arabic news outlet: On 24 May 2012, in a [[change of command]] ceremony aboard [[aircraft carrier]] [[USS Enterprise (CVN-65)|USS Enterprise (CVN 65)]], while docked at Khalifa Bin Salman Port, [[Bahrain]], [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine Corps]] [[General officer|Gen]]. [[Jim Mattis|James Mattis]], Commander, [[United States Central Command|U.S. Central Command]], introduced [[Vice admiral|Vice Admiral]] [[Mark I. Fox]] as "Admiral Fox, the prince of the sea, emir of the sea – to translate 'admiral' from the Arabic to English;"<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 May 2012|title=Vice Adm. Miller Takes Helm of U.S. Navy in Middle East and Combined Maritime Forces|url=https://combinedmaritimeforces.com/2012/05/24/vice-adm-miller-takes-helm-of-u-s-navy-in-middle-east-and-combined-maritime-forces/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927102002/https://combinedmaritimeforces.com/2012/05/24/vice-adm-miller-takes-helm-of-u-s-navy-in-middle-east-and-combined-maritime-forces/|archive-date=27 September 2020|access-date=25 February 2021|website=Combined Maritime Forces (CMF)}}</ref> On 04 Feb 2021, in an announcement of his [[Coronavirus disease 2019|coronavirus]]-related death, the Arabic news website Saudi 24 News referred to Admiral Edmond Chagoury by the title "Prince of the Sea."<ref>{{Cite news|date=4 February 2021|title=Corona kidnaps the Prince of the Sea, Admiral Shaguri, in the protection of God – Al-Bina newspaper|work=Saudi 24 News|url=https://www.saudi24news.com/2021/02/corona-kidnaps-the-prince-of-the-sea-admiral-shaguri-in-the-protection-of-god-al-bina-newspaper.html|url-status=dead|access-date=25 February 2021|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224195602/https://www.saudi24news.com/2021/02/corona-kidnaps-the-prince-of-the-sea-admiral-shaguri-in-the-protection-of-god-al-bina-newspaper.html}}</ref>

One alternate etymology proposes that the term admiral evolved, instead, from the title of [[Amir al-umara|Amīr al-Umarā]]ʾ (أمير الأمراء). Under the reign of the [[Buyid dynasty]] (934 to 1062) of [[Iraq]] and [[Iran]], the title of Amīr al-Umarāʾ, which means prince of princes,<ref name=":0" /> came to denote the [[Heir apparent|heir-apparent]], or [[crown prince]].

This alternate etymology states that the term was in use for the Greco-Arab naval leaders (e.g. [[Christodulus]]) in the [[Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture]] of [[Norman Sicily]], which had formerly been ruled by Arabs, at least by the early 11th century. During this time, the Norman [[Roger II of Sicily]] (1095–1154) employed a Greek Christian, known as [[George of Antioch]], who previously had served as a naval commander for several North African Muslim rulers. Roger styled George in [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] fashion as {{lang|ar-Latn|[[amir al-umara|Amir of Amirs]]}}, or Amīr al-Umarāʾ, with the title becoming Latinized in the 13th century as {{lang|la|ammiratus ammiratorum}}.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Abulafia|author-link=David Abulafia|year=2011|title=The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean|place=London|publisher=[[Allen Lane]]|isbn=978-0-7139-9934-1}}</ref>

The [[Sicilians]] and later the [[Genoa|Genoese]] took the first two parts of the term from their [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]] opponents and used them as one word, {{lang|it|amiral}}. .<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rWVMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA103|editor=Harry Thurston Peck|editor-link=Harry Thurston Peck|editor2=Selim Hobart Peabody|editor3=Charles Francis Richardson|title=The International Cyclopedia: A Compendium of Human Knowledge|publisher=[[Dodd, Mead & Co.]]|volume=1|year=1899|orig-year=1885|page=103}}</ref> The [[France|French]] gave their sea commanders similar titles while in [[Portugal|Portuguese]] and [[Spain|Spanish]] the word changed to {{lang|pt|almirante}}.<ref>{{cite book|title=A dictionary of the English and Portuguese languages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0bA4AAAAYAAJ&pg=PT48 |author=Antonio Vieyra |year=1851 |volume=2 |page=48}}</ref> As the word was used by people speaking [[Latin]] or Latin-based languages it gained the "d" and endured a series of different endings and spellings leading to the English spelling {{lang|enm|admyrall}} in the 14th century and to ''admiral'' by the 16th century.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tfUKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA143 |title=The English Charlemagne Romances: The Boke of Duke Huon de Bordeaux |year=1534 |page=143}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e896FFNQ7lcC&pg=PA190 |author=John Ehrman |author-link=John Ehrman |title=The Navy in the War of William III 1689–1697: Its State and Direction |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |orig-year=1953 |year=2011 |page=190 |isbn=978-1-107-64511-0}}</ref>

It is important to note that the etymology of a word does not suggest the antiquity of the word as it may have appeared in other languages with entirely different pronunciations. The Greek ναύαρχος, for instance, which is pronounced "naúarkhos", existed from very ancient times in Greece. While ναύαρχος may be defined as "admiral" as used by [[Plutarch]] in his ''[[Parallel Lives]]'', the very pronunciation of ναύαρχος demonstrates that it is not a part of the etymology for the English word "admiral."