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midshipman

midshipman

15 8.4
A young officer in the navy who is training to work at sea
  • noun
  • /ˈmɪdʃɪpmən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : guardiamarina
  • I'm going to be a midshipman on his Majesty's ship
  • plainfin midshipman

And in this case, hundreds of midshipmen made the choice to go against their moral or ethical relevance.

Examples

  • After completing his initial training at Royal Naval College Dartmouth, he joined the battleship HMS Ramillies as a midshipman during the early stages of World War II.

  • He's a midshipman... on a destroyer.

  • I am a Midshipman. - I think you are wonderful.

  • Who was the youngest midshipman, and how old was he?

  • I have received this report on Midshipman Arthur Clayton.

  • And the sailor's name is Midshipman Abernathy.

  • To give us a little more insight into the Midshipman football program, we talk to Bill Wagner of the Annapolis Capital.

    Blog text (33)
  • And if I could add this, you know that the first day at the military school in New York, the first word we are taught as young midshipmen is mission.

  • I must've graduated from Annapolis with the second most demerits of any midshipman in the history of the Naval Academy.

  • After completing his training, he was promoted to the rank of midshipman in the U.S. Navy.

Synonyms

cadet
vsmidshipman
318 3.9

A young person training to become an officer in the armed forces

is specific to navy training and to a junior navy rank
naval officer
vsmidshipman
16 3.7

A person who commands ships or sailors in a navy

is a junior trainee with temporary rank rather than an authoritative officer
middy
vsmidshipman
  • Archaic
9.6

A young person training to be an officer in the navy

is used specifically for a young junior rank in British or U.S. navies
midshipwoman
vsmidshipman
  • UK
9.9

A woman training to be a navy officer holding a junior rank

is the equivalent role without specifying the person's gender

How Senior

lieutenant
  • Specialized
614 5.8
sublieutenant
  • UK
1 9.6
midshipman
  • Specialized
15 8.4
cadet
318 3.9

Surface Forms

midshipman singular
midshipmen plural

Morphology

midshipman = midship (semi-transparent) = mid + ship + man

Built from 'mid' + 'ship' -> 'midship', then + 'man'; the components signal 'person associated with the middle of a ship' but the specific occupational sense 'young naval officer in training' is a specialized extension.

Etymology

The word midshipman comes from the parts mid- and ship, where mid- means 'middle', as in midday, and ship is the boat. So a midshipman was originally a young sailor who worked in the middle of the ship, and today the word means a junior naval officer in training.