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midshipman

 - 3 dictionary results

mid⋅ship⋅man

  [mid-ship-muhn, mid-ship-]
Use midshipman in a Sentence
–noun, plural -men.
1. a student, as at the U.S. Naval Academy, in training for commission as ensign in the Navy or second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Compare cadet (def. 2).
2. British Navy.
a. an officer of the rank held by young men immediately upon graduating from the government naval schools.
b. (initial capital letter) the title and rank of such a graduate.
c. (formerly) one of a class of boys or young men who formed the group from which officers were chosen.
3. Also called singingfish. any toadfish of the genus Porichthys, having many small luminous organs on the underside and producing a buzzing sound with its air bladder.
Origin:
1620–30; midship + -man
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To midshipman
mid·ship·man   (mĭd'shĭp'mən, mĭd-shĭp'mən)   
n.  

  1. Abbr. Midn. A student training to be a commissioned naval officer, especially a student at a naval academy.

  2. Any of various fishes of the genus Porichthys, having several rows of light-producing organs along their bodies.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

midshipman 
1601, so called because he was stationed amidships when on duty.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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