"commander (officer in command)" in seven languages
Meaningcommander (officer in command)
Spanish
/komanˈdante/
masc.borrowed · French commandant or Italian comandante
French
/kɔmɑ̃dɑ̃/
masc.inherited
Also the rank of major, and an airline captain: commandant de bord.
Italian
/komanˈdante/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
/komɐ̃ˈdɐ̃tʃi/
masc.borrowed · Italian comandante or French commandant
Romanian
/komanˈdant/
masc.borrowed · French commandant
Catalan
/kumənˈdan/
masc.borrowed · French commandant or Italian comandante
English
/kəˈmændɚ/
from Latin/French · Old French comandeor
The Latin ancestor
*COMMANDĀRE (spoken Latin, for COMMENDĀRE)‘to entrust, to order’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spoken Latin reshaped COMMENDĀRE 'to entrust' as *COMMANDĀRE, after MANDĀRE 'to order'. The Romance words are present participles: 'the one commanding'.
English relatives: command, commando, demand, mandate, recommend
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEl comandante dio la orden de retirada.
- frLe commandant a donné l'ordre de se replier.
- itIl comandante ha dato l'ordine di ritirata.
- ptO comandante deu a ordem de recuar.
- roComandantul a dat ordinul de retragere.
- caEl comandant va donar l'ordre de retirada.
- enThe commander gave the order to retreat.