Talk:Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy

Talk Archive 1/April 27, 2007-Oct. 6, 2007

Folk etymology
No, the term has nothing to do with any longer Arabic phrase than emir. Yes, it's common and has even been referenced by US generals and flag officers but see the corrected entry on Admiral and the OED entry on the word. [Hypertechnically, it could be said to come from amir al-umara—commander of the commanders or commander-in-chief—that was held by some cool guys in medieval Sicily and spread from there. The term itself though was just from the first bit of their title being badly latinized, -atus shifting to -alis. Even then, absolutely nothing to do with the Fatimid rank of "commander of the sea".] —  Llywelyn II   18:53, 19 April 2024 (UTC)