lieutenant

[LukeJavan8]

history of the word is confusing.

[Slava]

The history itself is pretty clear to me, though the pronunciation our cis-Atlantic cousins use strikes me as odd.

Lieu - in place of,
Tenant - one holding said place.

The "lef" bit is a quite a mystery it seems, with several opinions out there.

[LukeJavan8]

Yes, but holding the place of what?
rank? a higher rank when s/he is gone?
Lieutenant General?

[Slava]

Holding the place of a superior officer. I gather lieutenants do the dirty work for their bosses.

[Perry Lassiter]

In the spirit of a professor friend, words have usages, not meanings. Generally, a lieutenant is the lowest grade of officer as opposed to enlisted men. (Navy has the ensign under the lieutenant.) As I understand it, the Lt. leads a platoon consisting of three or four squads, each led by a corporal or sergeant. The platoon has a sergeant who often is more of the leader than the Lt. Four platoons make up a company, commanded by a captain. Of course, that's a basic infantry setup, and it's modified all over the place.

[LukeJavan8]

makes a certain sense, I guess. I don't pretend
to understand military organization. Always has
confused me.

And then the persons in the Order of the Holy
Sepulchre {take off of Teutons, Malta, or some such}
have a division called a "lieutenancy" as the basic
division in which members (?) belong.