Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many armed forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators, major is one rank above captain in armies and air forces, and one rank below lieutenant colonel. It is considered the most junior of the field officer ranks.[1]
Majors are typically assigned as specialised executive or operations officers for battalion-sized units of 300 to 1,200 soldiers[citation needed] while in some nations, like Germany,[2] majors are often in command of a company.
When used in hyphenated or combined fashion, the term can also imply seniority at other levels of rank, including general-major or major general, denoting a low-level general officer, and sergeant major, denoting the most senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) of a military unit.[disputed ][citation needed] The term major can also be used with a hyphen to denote the leader of a military band such as in pipe-major or drum-major.
Historically, the rank designation developed in English in the 1640s, taken from French majeur, in turn a shortening of sergent-majeur, which at the time designated a higher rank than at present.[citation needed] The term Mayor for the head of a municipal government can also be traced to the same French word.
The rank of major is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures, such as the Pennsylvania State Police, New York State Police, New Jersey State Police, and several others.[citation needed] As with a military major, this rank is most commonly the next rank above captain. The rank is equivalent to an inspector or commander in other large police departments or to the UK rank of superintendent.[citation needed]
Alphabetically sorted by name of country:
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For countries that use the word commandant or derivatives instead of major, see Commandant (rank). |
