Which is correct pronunciation, “Loo-tenant” or “Lef-tenant”?
The correct pronunciation of Lieutenant in the Australian Services is ‘lef-tenant’. The US use the other version. Strangely the American version is closer to historically accurate. The word has it’s origins in the ranks of the Roman Army and has come through French and middle English. A ‘caput’ was the equivalent a Captain. The word roughly translates to ‘leader’ or ‘head of a group’. The rank next down would hold ‘tenant’ (authority) in his absence, or “in lieu of the tenant”.
