sergeant major
7
6.1
- noun
- /ˈsɑrdʒənt ˈmeɪdʒər/
- Specialized
:
sargento mayor
- As the chief administrative officer, the sergeant major oversees the logistics of the unit.
- command sergeant major
- army sergeant major
- rank of sergeant major
He should also deeply respect the service of Sergeant Major Tim Waltz.
- He should also deeply respect the service of Sergeant Major Tim Waltz.
- So I then had to call my Sergeant major the following day and I was like, listen, I spoke to him.
- And then the Sergeant major was next to him dead.
- And Sergeant Major Oquendo, who is the company Sergeant major, when he brought me in, he he pushed back real hard.
- I left early on my, my first tank commander was at the time of me leaving was the, was the regiment of Sergeant Major.
- They said you when you finish, it'll be the Sergeant major of training when you'll have a white armband on and he'll, he'll get you out the room.
- They said you when you finish, it'll be the Sergeant major of training when you'll have a white arm band on and he'll, he'll get you out the room.
Examples
-
Paschall Page, the regimental sergeant major, came up to Captain Lewis and saluted.
Fiction book (1992) -
Sergeant major, I beg your pardon for entering your quarters without invitation.
-
A future Sergeant major wrote out the role.
-
Carry out your orders, sergeant major.
-
The sergeant major knows that, and his son should know it.
-
You have your instructions, sergeant major.
-
White Rose and welcomed his old friend, Sergeant Major Morris.
-
That won't be necessary, sergeant major.
-
He was a sergeant major then.
-
Sergeant major, assemble a platoon from A troop.
Synonyms
1
6.8
A senior soldier who helps run a group of soldiers and manages discipline and administration
How Senior
- Specialized
7
6.1
- Specialized
7
6.0
- Specialized
4
5.5
422
3.9
- Specialized
14
3.5
- Specialized
450
4.3
76
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is built from two rank words so a learner who knows 'sergeant' and 'major' can reasonably infer it denotes a senior or higher-level sergeant (a high-ranking non-commissioned officer), giving a clear compositional link. However, the exact institutional sense — that it is a specific chief administrative NCO role or the highest NCO rank, and that 'major' here does not refer to the commissioned officer rank — is conventional and may be confusing without prior exposure. This partial predictability makes it only partly transparent.
Etymology
Sergeant major (rank) comes from the idea of a leading sergeant — the sergeant who acted like the major among sergeants and helped officers run the unit. That's why the title means 'the top sergeant' who looks after the troops and discipline today.