Etymology

sub-lieutenant

Today it means: A commissioned officer of the Royal Navy ranking above a midshipman and below a lieutenant. Full definition →

English lieutenant ← Latin sub- ← Proto-Italic *supo
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*upó
  2. Proto-Italic*supo
  3. Latinsub
  4. Latinsub-
  5. Englishsub-
  6. Englishlieutenant
  7. English todaysub-lieutenant

From sub- + lieutenant.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.