Why is lieutenant pronounced leftenant?
According to military customs, a lower ranking soldier walks on the left side of a senior officer. This courtesy developed when swords were still used on the battle field. The lower ranked soldier on the “left” protected the senior officers left side. Therefore, the term leftenant developed.
Why is colonel pronounced with R?
Why is the word “colonel” pronounced with an “r” sound when it is not spelled with an “r”? “Colonel” came to English from the mid-16th-century French word coronelle, meaning commander of a regiment, or column, of soldiers. By the mid-17th century, the spelling and French pronunciation had changed to colonnel.
Why is the L silent in colonel?
Then there’s the influence of France on “colonel.” The French also took this word from the Italians. But when they added it to their language, they changed the word “colonnelo” to “coronel.” Language experts say this is because the French wanted to have the “r” sound in the word, instead of the two “l” sounds.
How is lieutenant pronounced in UK?
While Americans (and possibly others) pronounce this as “loo-tenant”, folks from the UK pronounce it as “lef-tenant”.
How do Irish people pronounce lieutenant?
It is ‘lef-tenant’ over here. But in American and Ireland it’s ‘loo-tenant’.”
Are lieutenant and leftenant the same?
Wikitionary claims that leftenant is an archaic spelling of lieutenant. It’s an achaic spelling in English, but not in French. This spelling was to stick to the pronunciation, and not the opposite, as there is not “lefttenant” in old French.
How is lieutenant pronounced in England?
No one can really say why in the British Army the word is pronounced “left-tenant” but it’s notable that in the Royal Navy the pronunciation seems half way across the ocean. They drop the “f” and say “le-tenant.”
Is R silent in February?
While “Feb-RU-ary” is still considered the standard pronunciation, most dictionaries recognize the pronunciation of February without the first “r” (“Feb-U-ary”) as an acceptable variant.
Why is colonel pronounced Cornell?
This was because the rank was bestowed upon the commander of a column of troops. This word was then adopted by the French, who translated the term in their own language, converted the word ‘colonnello’ to the word ‘coronel’. This is the reason why ‘colonel’ is pronounced ‘kernel’.
Is leftenant same as lieutenant?
As nouns the difference between lieutenant and leftenant is that lieutenant is (military) the lowest commissioned officer rank or ranks in many military forces while leftenant is an archaic spelling of lieutenant.