orderly sergeant
- noun
- /ˈɔrdərli ˈsɑrʤənt/
- Archaic
:
sargento de orden
- The orderly sergeant ensured that all the troops received their assignments for the day.
Examples
-
On the extreme left of the front rank is our orderly sergeant; he was previously the second sergeant.
Blog text (7) -
Our orderly sergeant, who was wounded at Fair Oaks, lost the use of his arm and has been discharged, and I learn by a letter from home that he is at Rushford attending school.
Blog text (11) -
During the drill, our orderly sergeant gave clear instructions to all the recruits.
-
As the first sergeant, the orderly sergeant managed the paperwork for the entire company.
Synonyms
8
7.7
A senior soldier who helps manage a company and handles records and daily tasks
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: 'orderly' (a soldier who assists or runs errands) modifies 'sergeant', yielding a sergeant who performs orderly/administrative duties. This noun+noun role formation maps closely onto the provided definition, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
The term orderly sergeant may come from the old role of a sergeant who literally carried and handed out orders for the officer. The picture of orderly (carrying orders) plus sergeant explains why the phrase means the company's main sergeant who acts as the officer's 'assistant' and helps 'give orders' to the men.