Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A commissioned rank formerly used in the U.S. Navy that was above captain and below rear admiral. Abolished in 1899, it was restored temporarily during World War II.
- n. One who holds this rank.
- n. Used as an unofficial designation for a captain in the British Navy temporarily in command of a fleet division or squadron.
- n. The senior captain of a naval squadron or merchant fleet.
- n. The presiding officer of a yacht club.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An officer in the navy next in rank below a rear-admiral and above a captain. In the navy of the United States (in which the office was first created in 1862) a commodore ranks with a brigadier-general in the army, and may command a division or a squadron, or be chief of staff of a naval force commanded by an admiral or a vice- or rear-admiral; or he may command ships of the first class, or naval stations. In the British navy the rank of commodore is a temporary one, and of two kinds, of which the first conveys authority over a captain in the same ship, while the second does not. The former gives the rank, pay, and allowances of a rear-admiral; the latter, the pay and allowances of a captain. They both carry distinguishing pennants. Abbreviated Com.
- n. By courtesy or by extension— The senior captain when three or more ships of war are cruising in company. Before 1862 captains in the United States Navy commanding or having commanded squadrons were recognized as commodores by courtesy.
- n. The senior captain of a line of merchant vessels.
- n. The president of a yachting-club or of an organization of boat-clubs.
- n. The convoy or leading ship in a fleet of merchantmen, which carries a light in her top to conduct the other ships.
Wiktionary
- n. military, nautical A naval officer holding a rank between captain and rear admiral.
- n. nautical A (temporary) commander over a collection of ships who is not an admiral.
- n. nautical The president of a yacht club
- n. US, military, nautical A commodore admiral
- n. US, military, nautical A rear admiral (lower half)
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (U. S. Navy) An officer who ranks next above a captain; sometimes, by courtesy, the senior captain of a squadron. The rank of commodore corresponds with that of brigadier general in the army.
- n. (British Navy) A captain commanding a squadron, or a division of a fleet, or having the temporary rank of rear admiral.
- n. A title given by courtesy to the senior captain of a line of merchant vessels, and also to the chief officer of a yachting or rowing club.
- n. A familiar for the flagship, or for the principal vessel of a squadron or fleet.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a commissioned naval officer who ranks above a captain and below a rear admiral; the lowest grade of admiral
Etymologies
- From Dutch kommandeur, from French commandeur, from Old French comandeor "commander". (Wiktionary)
- Obsolete commandore, probably from Dutch komandeur, commander, from French commandeur, from Old French, from comander, to command; see command. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“September, 1855, he had been promoted to the rank of captain, which, prior to the Civil War, was the highest grade in the United States Navy; the title commodore, then so frequently applied to the older officers of the service, being simply one of courtesy given to a captain who had commanded a squadron of several vessels, but who did not thereby cease to be borne as a captain upon the Navy Register.”
“The commodore was a big man, tall and broad-shouldered, and his ex-wife had been fond of telling him that his “aura” frequently preceded him, even through a closed door.”
“Now, Captain, you must call the commodore, or whoever else you feel you must consult about this matter, and see to it that whatever ‘security measures’ are required are put swiftly in place—for I will not linger here another two days while that slander on my crew lies smarting in my mind, and those who committed it sit about congratulating themselves.”
“The commodore was a man of medium height, slender, with hair so blond it was almost white.”
“We'll be back in half an hour," called the commodore, as they rowed away from the schooner.”
“One of the ships, King records, "wore a CHEF D'ESCADRE'S pennant," that is, a commodore's.”
“For I knowed the commodore was the lad t 'string 'em to the yard-arm an' he had the say on it.”
“I didn't know anybody but my father was called commodore!”
“Burning with rage and trembling with nervous exhaustion, he barely saved himself from lunging into two men of slight stature who had just come from a neighboring state-room: a slender old man leaning feebly on a thick-set youth, whom one flash of his eye identified as the commodore and Hugh, though as they passed toward the stair they betrayed no sign that they had observed him.”
“For a short period in the early 1980s, the rank of O-7 was called commodore admiral, before the title was reverted back to the senior captains, and the grade of O-7 changed to”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘commodore’.
-
POL - people in power
daredevil, tzar, king, boss, master, commander, chief, kingpin, top banana, bigwig, big cheese, big wheel and 452 more...
-
Star Trek and Star Wars
Ridiculous American cheese, but entertaining all the same.
navigational shields, antiprotons, deflector, superluminal, spock, vulcan, warp speed, warp, captain, united earth, lieutenant, commander and 51 more...
-
reginaterra's Words
purl, blow, squish, andean, generality, adaptation, lush, pack, filter, acquiesce, abstraction, sweet and 508 more...
-
endearments etc.
commodore, archon, consort, overlord, gent, liege, cap'n, chief, player two, preciosa, beau, cherie and 38 more...
-
people
authoress, arm candy, doppelganger, contender, portraitist, acolyte, hierophant, whistleblower, scrivener, querent, banshee, jester and 81 more...
-
son_number2's Words
jubilation, inhibited, prepuce, lamewad, commodore, debauchery, debacle
Tweets
Looking for tweets for commodore.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.