Unteroffizier

German

Etymology

unter- + Offizier

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈʊntɐʔɔfiˌt͡siːɐ̯]
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: Un‧ter‧of‧fi‧zier

Noun

Unteroffizier m (strong, genitive Unteroffiziers, plural Unteroffiziere, feminine Unteroffizierin)

  1. (military) non-commissioned officer, NCO
  2. (military, Germany) a specific, namely the lowest, NCO rank
    • 1915, Karl Müller, Kriegsbriefe eines neutralen Offiziers, Velhagen & Klasing, page 236:
      Am Fernsprecher des Beobachtungsstandes sitzt ein Unteroffizier und wiederholt dem Offizier die eingehenden Meldungen über die eigene Feuerwirkung, über Verluste, über vom Feinde unter Feuer genommene Punkte, über die eigenen Ziele […]
      At the telephone of the observation post sits a corporal and repeats to the officer the incoming reports about the damage caused by own fire, about casualties, about targets taken under fire by the enemy, about the own targets

Usage notes

  • According to NATO standards, a Bundeswehr Unteroffizier is equivalent to a sergeant in Anglophone armed forces (OR-5). In terms of its being the lowest NCO rank it is more similar to corporal (OR-4), however. (Note that the German rank of Korporal newly introduced in 2021 is an enlisted-personnel rank.)

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Russian: у́нтер-офице́р (únter-oficér)

Further reading

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