Leutnant

leutnant German de: Alternative forms de Leutenant archaic de Lieutenant archaic Etymology From de frm lieutenant lieutenant; deputy, from fr tenir fr le fr lieu fr de (“to keep the position of”). Early on, the form was folk-etymologically reshaped, the first syllable being associated with de Leute folk, men, the last syllable sometimes with de Amt post, office. The normal spoken form in German has been Leut(e)nant since the 17th century, although the French spelling Lieutenant remained common and became standard in the 19th century. The contemporary spelling was introduced in the German Empire in 1899 amid rising Franco-German tensions and a general trend of Germanification. Pronunciation de /ˈlɔʏ̯tnant/ de De-Leutnant.ogg <<Germany>> (<<Berlin>>) de Leut nant de ant 2 Noun m,,e:s lieutenant Usage notes The normal plural used to be Leutnants. Today both forms are roughly equally common. The preference seems to depend somewhat on stress patterns, meaning that de Leutnante is more frequent in the simplex than in compounds. Declension m,,e:s Derived terms de Generalleutnant de Kapitänleutnant de Leutnantspatent de Oberleutnant Descendants et leitnant 1 dsb leutnant 1 Further reading de Military ranks