adjutant

[aj-uh-tuh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR adjutant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Military. a staff officer who assists the commanding officer in issuing orders.

British Military. an executive officer.

an assistant.

Origin of adjutant

1590–1600; < Latin adjūtant- (stem of adjūtāns, present participle of adjūtāre to help, assist), equivalent to ad- ad- + jū- (variant stem of juvāre to help) + -t- frequentative suffix + -ant- -ant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for adjutant

auxiliary, helper, aide

Examples from the Web for adjutant

Historical Examples of adjutant

He came to lean upon O'Moy's writing-table, facing the adjutant.
The Snare
Rafael Sabatini
Yet as they went the adjutant's eyes raked the ballroom in quest of his wife.
The Snare
Rafael Sabatini
"Ye can always thrash an impudent fellow," opined the adjutant.
The Snare
Rafael Sabatini
The interrogation, which seemed almost to cover a reproach, irritated the adjutant.
The Snare
Rafael Sabatini
It was not for Dom Miguel to know that it was the adjutant's fate that was being decided.
The Snare
Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for adjutant

adjutant

noun

an officer who acts as administrative assistant to a superior officerAbbreviation: adjt, adj

short for adjutant bird

Derived Formsadjutancy, noun

Word Origin for adjutant

C17: from Latin adjūtāre to aid

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for adjutant

"military officer who assists superior officers," c.1600, from Latin adiutantem (nominative adiutans), present participle of adiutare "to give help to, help zealously, serve," frequentative of adiuvare (past participle adiutus) "help, assist, aid, support," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + iuvare "to help, give strength, support," perhaps from same root as iuvenis "young person" (see young).