Editing Lieutenant (section)

==Etymology==
The word ''lieutenant'' derives from [[French language|French]]; the {{lang|fr|lieu}} meaning "place" as in a position ([[cf.]] [[wikt:in lieu of|in lieu of]]); and {{lang|fr|tenant}} meaning "holding" as in "holding a position"; thus a "lieutenant" is a placeholder for a superior, during their absence (compare the Latin {{lang|la|[[locum tenens]]}}).

In the 19th century, British writers who considered this word either an imposition on the English language, or difficult for common soldiers and sailors, argued for it to be replaced by the [[calque]] "steadholder". However, their efforts failed, and the French word is still used, along with its many variations (e.g. [[lieutenant colonel]], [[lieutenant general]], [[lieutenant commander]], [[flight lieutenant]], [[second lieutenant]] and many non-English language examples), in both the [[Old World|Old]] and the [[New World]].{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}

===Pronunciation===
Pronunciation of ''lieutenant'' as {{IPAc-en|audio=En-uk-lieutenant.ogg|l|ɛ|f|ˈ|t|ɛ|n|ə|n|t}} {{respell|lef|TEN|ənt}} is generally associated with the armies of [[British Commonwealth]] countries, while {{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-lieutenant.ogg|l|uː|ˈ|t|ɛ|n|ə|n|t}} {{respell|loo|TEN|ənt}} is generally associated with the United States military.<ref name="ahd">[[American Heritage Dictionary]], s.v. [http://www.bartleby.com/61/73/L0157300.html "Lieutenant"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012150158/http://bartleby.com/61/73/L0157300.html |date=2007-10-12 }}</ref> The early history of the pronunciation is unclear; [[Middle English]] spellings suggest that both pronunciations may have existed even then.<ref name="oed">{{Cite OED|term=lieutenant|id=4654777512}}</ref>  The majority of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century sources show pronunciations with {{IPA|/v/}} or {{IPA|/f/}}, but [[William Bullokar|Bullokar]] has {{IPA|/liu/}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=English Pronunciation 1500-1700 |first=E. J. |last=Dobson |volume=ii |edition=second |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |year=1968 |orig-year=1957 |page=1009}}</ref>

The rare [[Old French]] variant spelling {{lang|fro|leuf}} for [[Modern French]] {{lang|fr|lieu}} ({{gloss|place}}) supports the suggestion that a final {{IPA|[u]}} of the Old French word was in certain environments perceived as an {{IPA|[f]}}.<ref name="oed" /> Furthermore, in [[Latin]], the ''lingua franca'' of the era,{{when|date=March 2023}} the letter {{angbr|v}} is used for both {{IPA|la|u|}} and {{IPA|la|v|}}.
In [[Royal Navy|Royal Naval]] (RN) tradition—and other English-speaking navies outside the United States—a reduced pronunciation {{IPAc-en|audio=Lieutenant Pronunciation Reduced.ogg|l|ə|ˈ|t|ɛ|n|ə|n|t}} is used. This is not recognised as current by recent editions of the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary|OED]]'' (although the RN pronunciation was included in editions of the ''OED'' up until the 1970s).