Sergent

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A misspelling or variant of a military or police rank just below lieutenant ; sometimes used in historical, regional, or non-English contexts to refer to a non-commissioned officer
2. Typically serving as a non-commissioned officer rank beneath a lieutenant ; occasionally represents a regional or historical form of a word denoting such a position
3. A term occasionally found as an alternative or mistaken form for a law enforcement or military rank subordinate to lieutenant ; sometimes seen in historical documents or variant spellings

Etymology: Before it named a military rank, this word meant simply "servant." It comes from Latin "serviens," the present participle of "servire," "to serve," so its earliest holders were attendants who waited on a lord or superior. Medieval English used the title for a range of minor household and legal officials before it became associated with the army. Its closest relative is "servant" itself. The two are doublets: both descend from "serviens," but "servant" came through the Old French form "servant," while the other word took the Old French "sergent." The two drifted apart, one into domestic service and the other into the military. The military sense arose as armies needed men who stood between commissioned officers and ordinary soldiers, passing orders down and keeping the ranks in order. The "non-commissioned" label marks that these men rose through the ranks rather than holding an official commission.

Synonyms: sergeant, officer, noncommissioned officer, NCO, warrant officer