Etymology: A borrowing immediately from Anglo-Norman, Old French, Middle French, and post-classical Latin, showing a number of distinct form types, most or all of which probably reflect foreign-language influence: (i) In α. forms < Anglo-Norman admirall, admiralle, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French admirail, Anglo-Norman and Middle French admiral (mid 13th cent. or earlier) and its etymon post-classical Latin admiralis, admirallus, admiralius (frequently from 12th cent. in British sources), admirarius (12th cent.), alteration (after classical Latin ad- ad- prefix, especially in admīrāri admire v.) of amiralis (see below). (ii) In β. forms < Anglo-Norman ammiraille, amerail, ameral, amerale, amerall, amerelle, etc., Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French amiral, amirail (French amiral ) emir, caliph, Muslim commander (c1160 in Anglo-Norman, earlier in Old French as amiralt (c1100: see below)), naval commander (a1212) and its etymon post-classical Latin amiralis, amirallus, amiralius (frequently from 12th cent. in British sources), amirarius (13th cent.) emir, Arab commander or governor, naval commander < Arabic amīr commander (see emir n.; compare emir n.) + classical Latin -ālis -al suffix¹. Compare Old Occitan amirau , amirar , amiralh , Italian ammiraglio (a1294 as amiraglio ). (iii) In γ. and δ. forms apparently ultimately showing excrescent /d/; compare post-classical Latin admiraldus (late 11th cent.; from 12th cent. in British sources), Old French amiralt , Old French, Middle French amirault (c1100), and Anglo-Norman amiraud , amiraude , Old French ammiraut , Old French, Middle French amiraut , Middle French admiraut (c1170). (iv) In ε. and η. forms < Anglo-Norman amirant, amiraunt, Old French, Middle French amirant (c1170), alterations, after either classical Latin admīrant- , admīrāns admiring (see admirant adj.) or Spanish almirante naval commander (mid 13th cent.), of amiral, amiralt, etc. Compare also post-classical Latin admirandus (12th cent.; 13th cent. in a British source), Anglo-Norman admirand (a1382), Portuguese almirante . (v) In ζ. forms ultimately showing alteration of the first syllable after the Arabic definite article al- (which is frequently borrowed into European languages as part of loanwords from Arabic; compare e.g. alchemy n.), after post-classical Latin almirallus (14th cent.), Anglo-Norman almiral , Middle French almirail , Catalan †almirall (13th cent.), Spanish †almiralle , †almirage (both mid 13th cent.), Italian †almiraglio (a1533); compare also Spanish almirante , Portuguese almirante (see above). The word is recorded earliest and most frequently in post-classical Latin as amiratus , admiratus (9th cent.; frequently from 12th cent. in British sources) < Arabic amīr (see above) + classical Latin -ātus , past participle ending (see -ate suffix²), after admīrātus , past participle of admīrārī admire v. (compare Old Occitan amirat, Old French amiret, amiré (second half of the 12th cent.)); these forms are apparently not reflected in English. Compare also post-classical Latin amiras, ameras Muslim commander (9th cent.) < Byzantine Greek ἀμηρᾶς (8th or early 9th cent., itself < Arabic). Compare also Middle Dutch amiral, ammirael, etc. Muslim commander (Dutch admiraal, now only in sense ‘naval commander’), Middle Low German ammerāl, ammirāl naval commander, Middle High German amiral, amiralt, admirāt, atmerāt Muslim commander (German Admiral naval commander (1388 as ammiral), also in both senses in early modern German as amirald, amirad, amiral, admirant, etc.), Old Swedish ameral naval commander (Swedish amiral).A further development in Latin Compare post-classical Latin admirabilis , denoting Margaritus of Brindisi as commander of the Sicilian fleet (a1198: see below), apparently a folk-etymological alteration of admiralis (which is used in the same British source) after admirabilis admirable adj.; for the reverse development compare admiral adj. Compare French amirauble (end of the 12th cent. in an apparently isolated source). Further comments regarding Arabic models It has been suggested that the presence of the final -al was caused or reinforced by Arabic al , the definite article which is also used in genitive constructions, but this is not borne out by the textual evidence in either Arabic or the Western languages. Although it is unlikely that this influenced the ending of post-classical Latin amiralis , Arabic amīr does occur in many titles followed by al , the earliest of which is amīr al-mū'minīn Commander of the Faithful, assumed by the Caliph Omar, and Latinized in many forms by the early chroniclers (compare post-classical Latin Amermumi (7th cent.), Amiralmumin , Amormomini (9th cent.), Amiramomenini (12th cent.), Byzantine Greek Ἀμερμουμναῖ , Ἀμεριμναῖ , plural). It has also been suggested that post-classical Latin admirabilis mundi (in Regi Marok, quem Admirabilem mundi appellare consuevimus ‘the King of Marocco, whom we are accustomed to call the Admiral of the world’ (Matthew Paris, 1251)) may be after this phrase. History of the title The post-classical Latin title amiratus was adopted for a high-ranking commander in the crusader kingdom of Sicily, which had been founded in the 11th cent. It came to also be applied to naval commanders, and is attested earliest in this use in 1178 (as admiratus stolii commander of the fleet). This title was also used c1194 by Margaritus of Brindisi, whose fame at the time helped consolidate the naval associations (also recorded for other forms of the word, e.g. admiralis ). After a number of native Genoese men had been commanders of the fleet in Sicily from the end of the 12th cent. onwards, the title amiratus was taken to Genoa in the first half of the 13th cent., and spread further from there. The first Englishman recorded being referred to as admiral is William of Leybourne in 1295 (in a reference in a Latin document). For a detailed discussion compare L.-R. Ménager Amiratus–Ἀμηρᾶς (1960). Development of phrases With admiral of the sea at sense 2b compare post-classical Latin admirallus maris (early 15th cent. in British sources; compare earlier admirallus nostrorum supra mare (1372 in a British source)), Anglo-Norman and Middle French amiral de la mer (1297 with reference to William of Leybourne), Spanish almirante de la mar , †almiralle de la mar (both mid 13th cent.), also Middle Dutch ammiraal van der zee , earliest with reference to a Genoese commander, admirael ter zee (Dutch admiraal van der zee , admiraal ter zee ; now historical). With admiral of the fleet n. at Phrases 2 compare post-classical Latin admirallus flotae commanding officer of a naval fleet (early 14th cent. in British sources). Compare also post-classical Latin amiratus stolii (see above). Development of secondary senses With sense 3 compare earlier admiral ship n.¹ In quot. 1667 apparently after Italian ammiraglia , feminine (1611 in Florio); compare French amirale , feminine (mid 13th cent. in an apparently isolated source). Compare also German Admiral , masculine (late 16th cent. in this sense). In sense 5 the butterflies are probably so called on account of their colourful markings, probably with allusion either to the rich dress of a high-ranking officer or (as first applied to the red admiral) perhaps to the red ensign of the highest-ranking admiral in England (compare Admiral of the Red at red n. 9). Compare post-classical Latin ammiralis , which is recorded by Linnaeus ( Fauna Suecica (1746 )) as a non-scientific name for the red admiral, apparently following Petiver (compare quot. 1699), hence Dutch admiraal (1757 or earlier; now admiraalvlinder . lit. ‘admiral butterfly’), German Admiral (1766 or earlier), in the same sense. The frequently-suggested derivation of the name of the butterfly from admirable adj. is less likely and probably due to folk etymology (although compare admiral adj., which may have reinforced the association); compare later admirable n. 4, red admirable n. 2. In sense 6 probably after scientific Latin Ammiralis , genus name (1705 in Rumphius, or earlier; adopted as a species name by Linnaeus 1758). Compare German Admiral (1744 or earlier in this sense). Development of forms The α. forms are attested in some of the earliest documents and become standard from the 16th cent. (with admiral as the only written form after the 18th cent.). The β. forms fall out of use in writing in the course of the 17th cent., but may still be reflected in the reduced pronunciation /ˈamrəl/ in naval use.

Etymology: Alteration of admirable adj., apparently after admiral n. by folk-etymological association (compare conversely the earlier occasional use of post-classical Latin admirabilis in sense ‘admiral’: see discussion at admiral n.); compare -al suffix¹. Compare also the later pairing admiral n. 5 and admirable n. 4.

Etymology: < admiral n. Compare general v.