The list of the lieutenancy of our metropolis.
Felton.
Lieu*ten"ant (l*tn"ant), n. [F., fr. lieu place + tenant holding, p.
pr. of tenir to hold, L. tenere. See Lieu, and Tenant, and cf. Locum
Tenens.] 1. An officer who supplies the place of a superior in his
absence; a representative of, or substitute for, another in the
performance of any duty.
The lawful magistrate, who is the vicegerent or lieutenant of God.
Abp. Bramhall.
2. (a) A commissioned officer in the army, next below a captain. (b) A
commissioned officer in the British navy, in rank next below a
commander. (c) A commissioned officer in the United States navy, in
rank next below a lieutenant commander.
Lieutenant is often used, either adjectively or in hyphened compounds,
to denote an officer, in rank next below another, especially when the
duties of the higher officer may devolve upon the lower one; as,
lieutenant general, or lieutenant- general; lieutenant colonel, or
lieutenant-colonel; lieutenant governor, etc.
Deputy lieutenant, the title of any one of the deputies or assistants
of the lord lieutenant of a county. [Eng.] -- Lieutenant colonel, an
army officer next in rank above major, and below colonel. -- Lieutenant
commander, an officer in the United States navy, in rank next below a
commander and next above a lieutenant. -- Lieutenant general. See in
Vocabulary. -- Lieutenant governor. (a) An officer of a State, being
next in rank to the governor, and, in case of the death or resignation
of the latter, himself acting as governor. [U. S.] (b) A deputy
governor acting as the chief civil officer of one of several colonies
under a governor general. [Eng.]
Lieu*ten"ant gen"er*al (jn"r*al). An army officer in rank next below a
general and next above a major general.
In the United States, before the civil war, this rank had been
conferred only on George Washington and (in brevet) on Winfield Scott.
In 1864 it was revived by Congress and conferred on Ulysses S. Grant,
and subsequently, by promotion, on William T. Sherman and Philip H.
Sheridan, each of whom was advanced to the rank of general of the army.
When Sheridan was made general (in 1888) the rank of lieutenant general
was suffered to lapse. See General.