Commodores

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Naval officers holding the rank just above captain, ranking below a rear admiral in many navies ; leaders in charge of a group of ships or a convoy ; senior officials who preside over a yacht club
2. Men who hold the rank of commodore in a navy ; those who command a squadron or convoy of vessels ; the presiding officers of a yacht club or similar maritime association
3. Officers ranking just above a captain in naval forces ; individuals directing a fleet or group of boats at sea ; figures who head a yachting club and oversee its affairs

Etymology: "Commodores" is the plural of "commodore," a naval rank that English borrowed from Dutch, though the word's roots run back through French and Latin to the idea of giving orders. Its ancestor is the Middle French "commandeur," a commander, and the same stem gave English the verb "command." The Dutch "kommandeur" carried the sense into the Netherlands' navy, and English adopted the title in that form. The English word also has a close relative in "commend," which arrived through a different route from the same Latin source, making the two a doublet. "Command" came through Old French "comander" and kept the sense of authority, while "commend" kept the older sense of entrusting or recommending. Both words descend from Latin "commendare" and "commandare," so the family resemblance is genuine rather than accidental.