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.

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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