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sergeant

ser·geant

UK/ˈsɑː.d͡ʒənt/ US/ˈsɑɹ.d͡ʒənt/ common uk

noun

1.

any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the army or air force or marines ranking above a corporal

2.

a lawman with the rank of sergeant

Synonyms
3.

Origin

From Middle English sergeant, sergeaunt, serjent, serjaunt, serjawnt, sergant, from Old French sergeant, sergent, serjant, sergient, sergant (“sergeant, servant”), from Medieval Latin servientem, accusative of serviēns (“a servant, vassal, soldier, apparitor”), from Latin serviēns (“serving”), present participle of serviō (“serve, be a slave to”). Doublet of servant and servient. The shift from /vj/ > /dʒ/ was a regular development in Old French. Compare cavea > cage, salvia > sage. The fish is so called because of its stripes, supposed to resemble a sergeant's insignia of rank. The pronunciation with /ɑɹ/ is due to a widespread development of Middle English er + consonant (see barn, start etc.). In sergeant, the spelling was standardised in one way, the pronunciation in another (compare clerk, derby in Commonwealth English, further parson vs. person, and varsity vs. university).

Phrases

  • colour sergeant
  • company sergeant major
  • desk sergeant
  • detective sergeant
  • drill sergeant
  • first sergeant
  • gunnery sergeant
  • lance sergeant

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.