Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
marshall

marshall

1 8.0
A very senior military officer who commands a whole branch of the armed forces
  • noun
  • /ˈmɑːrʃəl/
  • UK
translation icon : mariscal
  • In seventeenth-century Barbados, the governor went to church with his marshall going before him bareheaded, a posture some found too grandiose.

I've got Napoleon and his Marshalls about how the Emperor interacted with his Marshalls and how the Marshalls interacted with each other.

Examples

  • Is this the marshall I have the pleasure of addressing?

    Django Unchained (2012)

  • - Well, you better get... all these cars off this street before the fire marshall gets here.

    Father of the Bride (1991)

  • I didn't know you were a marshall.

    Run for the High Country (2018)

  • Don't tell the fire marshall.

    I Will Follow You Into the Dark (2012)

  • Upon their return, the Mugglis conferred with Philip Kray and his brother, Valentine, the town marshall.

    Academic text (2001)

  • The senior military officer, known as the marshall, oversaw the entire brigade during the training exercise.

  • During the parades, the marshall gave commands to ensure everything proceeded smoothly.

  • The newly appointed marshall was in charge of coordinating the defense strategy for the entire fleet.

Synonyms

general
vsmarshall
636 4.2

A very high military officer who leads the army, air force, or marines

often commands a whole branch or acts as a senior advisor instead
marshal
vsmarshall
  • UK
16 7.4

A very high military officer who commands an army

is the same rank but spelled with an extra letter compared with linked form
generalissimo
vsmarshall
3 9.9

The top army leader in charge of many armies

usually means a branch leader or senior advisor, not absolute supreme control
field marshal
vsmarshall
  • UK
1 8.6

A very high army rank above general

focuses on role as branch commander or advisor rather than strict rank above others
fleet admiral
vsmarshall
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A top officer who commands all ships in a country's navy

often denotes the top officer of a service, not only naval command

Compounds

Marshall Plan
9 4.0

A United States program that gave money to rebuild Western Europe after World War II

Marshall Plan
1 5.8

A large plan to give money and help to rebuild a country, like the US plan after World War II

Marshall Islands
1 2.9

An island country in the central Pacific Ocean with many small low islands

Republic of the Marshall Islands
4.5

An independent island country in the Pacific Ocean with close ties to the United States

How High-Ranking

marshall
  • UK
1 8.0
general
636 4.2
colonel
208 7.7
major
  • Specialized
922 4.9
captain
611 1.1
lieutenant
  • Specialized
614 5.8

Surface Forms

marshall singular
marshalls plural

Etymology

Marshall started as a job name for someone who looked after horses, from an old German words like marh ('horse') and skalk ('servant'). Because those horse masters controlled soldiers and transport, the title slowly grew into the name for a top military officer.