midshipman Hear it!

midshipman definition

mid·ship·man (mid′s̸hip′mən, mid s̸hip′-)

noun pl. midshipmen -·men (-mən)

  1. a student in training for the rank of ensign; specif., such a student at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis
  2. a junior British naval officer ranking between naval cadet and sublieutenant

Etymology: aphetic for amidshipmen, from being amidships when on duty

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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