▪ a naval officer of the second most senior rank, above vice admiral and below Admiral of the Fleet or Fleet Admiral.
▪ short for vice admiral or rear admiral
2. a butterfly which has dark wings with bold red or white markings.
Word OriginMiddle English (denoting an emir or Saracen commander): from Old French amiral, admirail, via medieval Latin from Arabic 'amīr ‘commander’ (from 'amara ‘to command’). The ending -al was from Arabic -al- ‘of the’, used in titles (e.g. 'amīr-al-'umarā ‘ruler of rulers’), later assimilated to the familiar Latinate suffix -al.
