adjutant

The story

1. Latin · derived fromadiūtō“to help, assist”
2. Portuguese · borrowed fromajudante“assistant, helper, aide”
3. Spanish · borrowed fromayudante
4. English todayadjutant

Probably in part from Spanish ayudante and in part from Portuguese ajudante (“assistant, helper, aide”), nominal uses of present participial adjectives from respectively ayudar and ajudar, from Latin adiūtō (“to help, assist”), with remodeling after its present participle adiūtāns (acc. adiūtantem). The stork's name is derived from the military sense, owing to its marchlike stiff gait when on ground.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 1622 An assistant.
• from 1641 A lower-ranking officer who assists a higher-ranking officer with administrative affairs.
• from 1798 Either the greater or the lesser adjutant, stork species of the genus Leptoptilos, family Ciconiidae, native to India and Southeast Asia.
• from 1645 Assistant; who helps a higher-ranking officer.