Major 201920 224510299 2008-07-09T04:39:50Z Paul A 7104 /* Links to Major ranks by country */ link repair ([[Wikipedia:WikiProject Red Link Recovery|You can help!]]) {{otheruses1|the military rank}} {{Military ranks}} '''Major''' is a [[military rank]] the use of which varies according to country. Depending on the country, the rank derives either from "Captain-Major", a rank of senior captain, or "Sergeant-Major" a rank of senior sergeant. In most countries Major derives from Captain-Major and denotes a mid-level command status [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] (immediately superior to the rank of [[Captain]] and immediately subordinate to the rank of [[Lieutenant Colonel]]). Where major derives from sergeant major, notably in France, major is a senior [[sub-officer]] rank. ==Early history== In considering terms of rank it is important to understand that the early evolution of the terms often was outside of English, and that the term always has been of essentially international distribution. In general European usage, the rank of ''Major'' originates from [[Romance languages|Romance]] comparative adjectives with the sense of Latin ''maior'' (also spelled ''major''), meaning 'senior' and 'greater'. Historically all Majors, Sergeants Major, and [[Major General]]s (to use English forms) derive from the rank, or rather the office of Sergeant Major. The Sergeant Major was the senior sergeant responsible for marshalling a [[battalion]] of pike. He was presumably the senior Company Sergeant from among the companies providing the pikemen, or at least a commissioned officer considered analogous to such a non-commissioned officer (sergeant). Hence, ''Major'' is an abbreviation of ''Sergeant Major'': the (Sergeant) Major 'the senior sergeant'. This is obscured in French and English, by the later evolution of a separate, non-commissioned rank called ''sergent major'' or Sergeant Major. Similarly, the rank of Major General is truncated from original Sergeant Major General 'the sergeant major or sergeant major-like soldier with general authority over the marshalling of the whole army'. Originally, there existed a single Sergeant Major General in each major field force. The original usage is illustrated in the first recorded(?) English (1643) attestation, as "[[Sergeant-Major]]", 'the third-in-command of a [[regiment]]'. The early German equivalent was Feld Wachtmeister, in which Feld functions as ''major'' and Wachtmeister ('watch master' or 'quarter[-ing] master') is the more commonly used term for a cavalry sergeant. Similarly we early on find Spanish Majors referred to Sargento Major. In several European [[navies]], the rank of Major was used in the sense or form "[[Pilot-Major]]" to denote the senior deck officer of a vessel in contrast to the [[Captain]] (or [[Captain General]]) who was typically an Army officer, with little naval knowledge, assigned to command the mission on which a vessel was embarked. The English equivalent of this usage is [[master mariner|Master]], as opposed to the [[Captain]] or [[Commander]]. In the Spanish navy of the 16th and 17th centuries, the captain's principal seaman was the "maestre" (master) who was responsible for the maritime operation of the ship. Next in the chain of command was the "piloto" (pilot) responsible for the safe navigation of the ship. A flagship's pilot was the "piloto mayor" (chief or major pilot) who determined the course of the whole squadron. [1] NOTES: 1. "Spanish Galleon 1530-1690" by Angus Konstam, copyright 2004 Osprey Publishing Ltd. ==Officer rank== In most comparative military scales a Major is a senior officer ranking above company grade ranks that usually include [[Captain (OF-2)|captain]] and between one and three lower [[subaltern]] officer ranks. In the [[Army officer ranks#NATO Rank Codes|NATO rank code]], Major as a Level 3 officer. The naval equivalent to a Major is, in some nations, the rank of [[Lieutenant Commander]]. By the time of the [[English Civil War]], Major had become a rank in itself, and was assigned to mid-level officers on the battlefield, and was most often used by those serving as [[aide]]s to a superior [[General]]. ==Non-commissioned rank== In the [[military of France|French military]], a major is the most senior non-commissioned rank. This rank can only be awarded by senior NCO (''adjudants-chefs''), after a very selective exam. Officially it is not a non-commissioned rank, but an intermediate rank between non-commissioned and commissioned. ==Use as a suffix== The rank of Major may still be found in its original form as a suffix (either hyphenated or not), to denote an officer more senior to the base rank. As a suffix, ''major'' derives from a comparative adjective major 'greater' and 'senior' following the modified Romance language noun; e.g. [[Adjutant|Adjutant-Major]], and [[Colonel-Major]]. It is also still commonly used in the rank of [[Sergeant Major]], and is also used in ceremonial appointments such as [[Drum-Major]] and [[Pipe-Major]]. In Argentina, the armed forces all use the rank of sub-officer-major as the highest non-commissioned rank. The army and air force also use the officer rank of major. The army has a rank of colonel-major, but this is essentially an automatic promotion for long-serving colonels rather than a functional rank in its own right. The [[Argentine National Gendarmerie]] uses the rank of commandant-major, which is roughly equivalent to a [[colonel]] or chief superintendent in the commonwealth. It is similarly still used as a prefix for the General officer rank of [[Major-General]], which is similarly used in many other languages (e.g. Generaal-Majoor in [[Dutch language|Dutch]]). ==Links to Major ranks by country== <!-- Please do not add country specific articles unless there is already one in existence or unless you intend to immediately create one --> * [[Major (Canada)|Major]] ([[Canada]]) * [[Major (Germany)|Major]] ([[Germany]]) * Maggiore ([[Italy]]) * [[Majoor (the Netherlands)|Majoor]] ([[the Netherlands]]) * [[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]] ([[United Kingdom]]) * [[Major (United States)|Major]] ([[United States]]) * [[Major (Sweden)|Major]] ([[Sweden]]) * [[Maggiore]] in the Italian armed forces except navy * [[Major (Denmark) |Major]] ([[Denmark]]) * [[Finnish_military_ranks |Majuri]] ([[Finland]]) * Jagran (جګړن) ([[Afghanistan]]) ==Links to ranks equivalent to Major by country== * [[Commandant (France)|Commandant]] ([[France]]) * [[Commandant]] ([[Ireland]]) * [[Majoor (the Netherlands)|Commandant]] ([[the Netherlands]]) * [[Sojwa]] ([[North Korea]]) * [[Soryong]] ([[South Korea]]) * [[Croatian military ranks|Bojnik]] ([[Croatia]]) * [[Major]] ([[Germany]]) * [[Sturmbannführer]] ([[Nazi Germany]]) * [[Tagmatarkhis]] ([[Greece]]) * [[Binbaşı]] ([[Turkey]]) * [[Comandante]] ([[Spain]]) * 少校 ([[China]]) * Thiếu Tá ([[Vietnam]]) ==See also== * [[Comparative military ranks]] * [[British Army officer rank insignia]] * [[Norwegian military ranks]] * [[U.S. Army officer rank insignia]] * [[Swedish Army Rank Insignia]] * [[Mayor]] ==Sources and references== * [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=major&searchmode=none Etymology on line] [[Category:Military ranks]] [[ar:رائد (رتبة عسكرية)]] [[bn:মেজর]] [[bs:Major]] [[cs:Major]] [[da:Major]] [[de:Major]] [[et:Major]] [[el:Ταγματάρχης]] [[es:Mayor]] [[eo:Majoro]] [[fr:Major]] [[hr:Bojnik]] [[id:Mayor]] [[it:Maggiore]] [[jv:Mayor]] [[lt:Majoras]] [[nl:Majoor]] [[ja:少佐]] [[no:Major]] [[pl:Major]] [[pt:Major]] [[ro:Maior (grad)]] [[ru:Майор]] [[sl:Major]] [[sr:Мајор]] [[fi:Majuri]] [[sv:Major]] [[vi:Thiếu tá]] [[tr:Binbaşı]] [[uk:Майор]] [[ur:اکبر (عہدہ)]] [[zh:少校]]