Editing Generalissimo (section)

==Usage==
The word {{lang|it|generalissimo}} ({{IPA|it|dʒeneraˈlissimo|pron}}), an [[Italian language|Italian]] term, is the [[superlative#Romance languages|absolute superlative]] of {{lang|it|[[wikt:generale#Italian|generale]]}} ([[General officer|'general']]) thus meaning "the highest-ranking of all generals". The [[Comparison (grammar)|superlative]] suffix {{lang|it|[[wikt:-issimo#Italian|-issimo]]}} itself derives from [[Latin]] {{lang|la|[[wikt:-issimus#Latin|-issimus]]}},<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia= [[Webster's Dictionary#Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1961)|Webster's Third New International Dictionary]]|title =issimus}}, French {{lang|fr|[[Éditions Larousse|Larousse]] Étymologique}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url =http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=generalissimo |title =Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher =[[Online Etymology Dictionary]] |access-date =July 18, 2012 |archive-date =June 5, 2015 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150605212756/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=generalissimo |url-status =live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/generalissimo |title =Define Generalissimo at Dictionary.com |publisher =[[Reference.com]] |access-date =July 18, 2012 |archive-date =October 6, 2012 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20121006163631/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/generalissimo |url-status =live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url =http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/generalissimo |title =Generalissimo – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |access-date=July 18, 2012 |archive-date=June 14, 2012 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120614061322/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/generalissimo |url-status =live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url =http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/generalissimo |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120729050305/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/generalissimo |url-status =dead |archive-date=July 29, 2012 |title=Definition of generalissimo – Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English) |publisher=[[Oxford Dictionary of English]]}}</ref> meaning "utmost, to the highest grade". Similar cognates in other languages include {{lang|es|generalísimo}} in [[Spanish language|Spanish]], {{lang|pt|generalíssimo}} in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], {{lang|fr| généralissime}} in [[French language|French]], and {{lang|la| generalissimus}} in Latin. The [[Russian language|Russian]] word {{Langx|ru|генералиссимус|translit= generalissimus|label=none}} comes from Latin.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last1 =Arsenyev |first1 =Konstantin |author-link1 =Konstantin Arsenyev |last2 =Petrushevsky |first2 =Fyodor |title =Генералиссимус |volume =15: Гальберг – Германий |encyclopedia=[[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]] |publisher =F. A. Brockhaus ([[Leipzig]]), I. A. Efron ([[Saint Petersburg]]) |year=1892 |trans-title=Generalissimo |page=312}}</ref>

Historically, this rank was given to a military officer leading an entire army or the entire armed forces of a state,<ref>
{{oed | generalissimo}} - "A supreme commander; ''spec''. an officer in command of a combined military, naval, and air force, or of several armies. Also: a prefixed title or form of address for such a commander. Frequently ''figurative''."
</ref>
usually only subordinate to the [[head of state|sovereign]].<ref>{{citation |url =http://jim.com/hobbes_on_right_of_sovereigns.htm |title=Chapter XVIII: Of the Rights of Sovereigns by institution |author =Thomas Hobbes |author-link =Thomas Hobbes |year =1660 |access-date =August 16, 2015 |archive-date=July 3, 2015 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150703143936/http://jim.com/hobbes_on_right_of_sovereigns.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Alternatively, those of imperial blood or the commanders-in-chief of several allied armies could gain the title.<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia
  | editor-last = Arsen'ev
  | editor-first = Konstantin Konstantinovich
  | editor-link = Konstantin Arsenyev
  | encyclopedia = Энциклопедический Словарь Ф.А.Брокгауза и И.А.Ефрона
  | title = Генералиссимус
  | trans-title = Generalissimus
  | url = https://www.vehi.net/brokgauz/all/026/26916.shtml
  | access-date = 2 August 2024
  | language = ru
  | year = 1892
  | publisher = Brockhaus and Efron
  | quote = Титул Г. всегда присваивался только лицам царской крови или же главнокомандующим несколькими союзными армиями. 
}}
</ref>
The military [[leader]] [[Albrecht von Wallenstein]] in 1632 became the first imperial ''generalissimo'' (general of the generals) of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Other usage of the title has been for the commander of the united armies of several allied powers (such as [[Ferdinand Foch]] on the [[Western Front (World War I) | Western Front]] in 1918 or [[Joseph Stalin]] on the [[Eastern Front (World War II) | Eastern Front]] in 1945), or if a senior military officer becomes a [[chief of state]] or a [[head of government]] (like [[Chiang Kai-shek]] in the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] or [[Francisco Franco]] in [[Francoist Spain|Spain]]).

The rank [[Generalissimus of the Soviet Union|''generalissimus'' of the Soviet Union]] would have been a ''generalissimo'' but some sources assert that Joseph Stalin refused to accept the rank.<ref name="Service2005">{{cite book |last1 =Service |first1 =Robert |title =[[Stalin: A Biography]] |date =2005 |publisher =Harvard University Press |isbn =978-0-674-01697-2 |pages =[https://books.google.com/books?id=hSWK6Dh4wRgC&pg=PA493 493], [https://books.google.com/books?id=hSWK6Dh4wRgC&pg=PA549 549] |url= |language=en}}</ref><ref>S. M. Shtemenko. ''The General Staff in the War Years''. Moscow, 1985. Vietnamese version (vol. 2) . pp. 587–588.</ref> In fact the grade was established by the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]], which did not need the approval of Stalin.<ref>Сборник законов СССР и Указов Президиума Верховного Совета СССР (1938 — июль 1956) / Сост.: М. И. Юмашев, Б. А. Жалейко. — М., 1956. — С. 202.</ref> The rank of ''generalissimo'' for Stalin was used also by Western diplomacy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1945/nov/07/generalissimo-stalin|title =Generalissimo Stalin (Hansard, 7 November 1945)|access-date =February 13, 2019|archive-date =February 13, 2019|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190213123627/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1945/nov/07/generalissimo-stalin|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 20th century, the term came to be associated with military officers who took [[dictator]]ial power in their respective countries, especially due to the Spanish leader Francisco Franco having this rank. As such, it is used in literature depicting fictional [[Latin America|Latin American]] dictatorial regimes, for example ''[[Father Hilary's Holiday]]'' by [[Bruce Marshall (writer)|Bruce Marshall]].<ref>Marshall, B: ''Father Hilary's Holiday'' Doubleday & Company, New York 1965.</ref>