Com*mand"er (?), n. [Cf. F.
commandeur. Cf. Commodore, Commender.]
1. A chief; one who has supreme authority; a
leader; the chief officer of an army, or of any division of
it.
A leader and commander to the people.
Is. lv. 4.
2. (Navy) An officer who ranks
next below a captain, -- ranking with a lieutenant colonel in the
army.
3. The chief officer of a
commandery.
4. A heavy beetle or wooden mallet, used
in paving, in sail lofts, etc.
Commander in chief, the military title
of the officer who has supreme command of the land or naval
forces or the united forces of a nation or state; a
generalissimo. The President is commander in chief of the
army and navy of the United States.
Syn. -- See Chief.
