adjutant

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a military officer who assists a commanding officer, especially with administration

   The general asked his adjutant to distribute the new orders to every unit.

2. 2
   noun

   a very large South Asian stork with a bare head and neck

   An adjutant stood near the riverside refuse heap, searching for food.

Simplified etymology

Adjutant comes from Latin adjutant-, meaning “being of service to,” from adjuvare, “to assist.” In the early 17th century it meant an assistant or helper; by the mid-17th century it had developed its usual military sense of an officer who assists a senior officer with administrative work.

From Latin adiutant-, the stem of adiutans, 'helping,' the present participle of adiutare, 'to assist.' It entered English as a military title for an assisting officer; the stork was later named for its supposedly military bearing.

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• Cambridge Dictionary
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