Admiral 65787 222869119 2008-07-01T14:40:29Z NeilN 409043 Reverted 1 edit by [[Special:Contributions/98.217.33.35|98.217.33.35]]; Rv del. using [[WP:TWINKLE|TW]] {{otheruses|Admiral (disambiguation)}} {{Military ranks}} '''Admiral''' is the [[military rank|rank]], or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest [[naval]] officers. It is usually considered a full admiral (equivalent to full [[general]]) and above [[Vice Admiral]] and below [[Admiral of the Fleet]]/[[Fleet Admiral]]. It is usually abbreviated to "Adm." or "ADM". Where relevant, Admiral is a [[4 star rank]]. ==History== The word Admiral in Middle English comes from Anglo-French ''amiral'', "commander", from Medieval Latin ''admiralis'', "emir", ''admirallus'', "admiral", from Arabic ''amir-al-'' أمير الـ, "commander of the" (as in ''amir-al-bahr'' أمير البحر, "commander of the sea")<ref>[http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/admiral Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary]</ref> [[Crusade]]rs learned the term during their encounters with the [[Arab]]s, perhaps as early as the 11th century. The [[Sicilians]] and later [[Genoa|Genoese]] took the first two parts of the term and used them as one word, ''amiral'', from their [[Catalunya|Catalan]] opponents. The [[France|French]] and [[Spain|Spanish]] gave their sea commanders similar titles while in [[Portugal|Portuguese]] the word changed to ''almirante''. 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 "admyrall" in the 14th century and to "admiral" by the 16th century. Although temporary navies were established for engagement in naval battles beforehand, the [[History of China|Chinese]] established [[History of the Song Dynasty#China's first standing navy|their first permanent, standing navy]] in 1132 AD, during the [[Song Dynasty]]. China's main headquarters and office for the admiral at that point was established at [[Dinghai]], with the main base near what is now modern [[Shanghai]]. The word Admiral has today come to be almost exclusively associated with the highest [[Naval officer ranks|naval rank]] in most of the world's [[navy|navies]], equivalent to the Army rank of (Full) [[General]]. The rank of Admiral has also been subdivided into various grades, several of which are historically extinct while others are used by most present day navies. The [[Royal Navy]] used colours (red, white, and blue, in descending order) to indicate the [[Admiral (United Kingdom)|seniority of its admirals]] until 1864; for example, [[Horatio Nelson]]'s highest rank was Vice Admiral of the White. The generic term for these naval equivalents of army generals is [[Flag Officer]]. Some navies have also used army-type titles for them, such as the [[Cromwell]]ian [[General]] at [[Sea]]. ==Admiral insignia by country== <gallery> <!-- Australia --> Image:RAN-Admiral-shoulder.gif|[[Admiral (Australia)|Australian admiral]]<br>[[Royal Australian Navy]] <!-- Canada --> Image:Navy sleeve Adm.png|[[Admiral (Canada)|Canadian admiral]] <br>[[Maritime Command (Canada)|Canadian Forces Maritime Command]] <!-- Chile --> Image:Arlmirante armada chile.jpeg|Chilean Admiral <br>[[Chilean Navy]] <!-- China --> Image:China-Navy-Admiral.gif|Admiral of [[People's Republic of China]] <br>[[People's Liberation Army Navy]] <!-- Denmark --> Image:UK-Navy-OF9.gif|[[Admiral (Denmark)|Danish admiral]] ([[Denmark]]) <!-- Finland --> <!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: Image:Finnish_Admiral_insignia.png|[[Admiral (Finland)|Finnish admiral]]<br>[[Finnish Navy|Suomen Merivoimat]] --> <!-- France --> Image:Grade-amiral.svg|[[Admiral (France)|French admiral]]<br> [[French Navy|Marine Nationale]] <!-- Germany --> Image:GE-NAVY-OF-9 Adm.png|[[Admiral (Germany)|German admiral]]<br>[[German Navy|Deutsche Marine]] <!-- Italy --> Image:IT-Navy-OF-10.png|[[Admiral (Italy)|Italian admiral]] <br>[[Italian Navy]] <!-- Mexico --> Image:Almirante hombrera SEMAR.gif| Mexican admiral <br>[[Mexican Navy]] <!-- Netherlands --> <!-- Unsourced image removed: Image:Admiraal.png|[[Admiral (Netherlands)|Dutch admiral]] <br>[[Royal Netherlands Navy]] --> <!-- Poland --> Image:POL PMW pagon1 admirał.svg|Polish admiral<br>[[Polish Navy|Marynarka Wojenna]] <!-- Romania --> Image:RO-Navy-OF-10s.png|Romanian admiral<br>[[Romanian Naval Forces|Forţele Navale Române]] <!-- Russia --> <!-- Deleted image removed: Image:Russia-navy-shoulder-1997 01-1-.gif|[[Admiral (Russia)|Russian admiral]] ([[Russian Federation]]) --> <!-- Spain --> Image:SP Almirante General.gif|[[Admiral (Spain)|Spanish admiral]] <br>[[Armada Española]] <!-- Ukraine --> Image:Ukraine Admiral shoulderboard.svg|[[Admiral (Ukraine)|Ukrainian admiral]]<br> [[Ukrainian Navy]] <!-- UK --> Image:UK-Navy-OF9.svg|[[Admiral (United Kingdom)|UK admiral]]<br>Sleeve lace<br>[[Royal Navy]] Image:Uk-navy-shoulder_14.gif‎|[[Admiral (United Kingdom)|UK admiral]]<br>Shoulder board<br>[[Royal Navy]] <!-- USA --> Image:US Navy O10 insignia.svg|[[Admiral (United States)|US admiral]] <br>([[US Navy]]) </gallery> ==See also== * [[Comparative military ranks]] * [[Nebraska admiral]] ==References== {{Reflist}} <br><!-- put a bit of white space between the list and the box --> {{Refimprove|date=January 2008}} [[Category:Admirals| ]] [[Category:Arabic words and phrases]] [[Category:Military ranks]] [[ar:أمير البحر]] [[az:Admiral]] [[bs:Admiral]] [[bg:Адмирал]] [[ca:Almirall]] [[cs:Admirál]] [[da:Admiral (søofficer)]] [[de:Admiral]] [[et:Admiral]] [[es:Almirante]] [[eo:Admiralo]] [[fa:دریادار]] [[fr:Amiral]] [[gd:Àrd-mharaiche]] [[hr:Admiral]] [[id:Laksamana]] [[it:Ammiraglio]] [[he:אדמירל]] [[lv:Admirālis]] [[hu:Tengernagy]] [[ml:അഡ്മിറല്‍]] [[ms:Laksamana]] [[nl:Admiraal]] [[ja:海軍大将]] [[no:Admiral]] [[nn:Admiral]] [[pl:Admirał]] [[pt:Almirante]] [[ro:Amiral]] [[ru:Адмирал]] [[sq:Admirali]] [[scn:Ammiragghiu]] [[sk:Admirál]] [[sl:Admiral]] [[fi:Amiraali]] [[sv:Amiral]] [[vi:Đô đốc]] [[tr:Amiral]] [[uk:Адмірал]] [[ur:امیر البحر]] [[zh:海軍上將]]