Counter admiral is amilitary rank used for high-ranking officers in severalnavies around the world, though the rank is not used in theEnglish-speaking world, where its equivalent rank isrear admiral. The term derives from the Frenchcontre-amiral.[1] Depending on the country, it is either aone-star ortwo-star rank. In modern navies that use it, counter admiral is generally, although not always, the lowestflag officer rank. In theGerman Navy, for instance,Flottillenadmiral ranks belowKonteradmiral; in theRoyal Canadian Navy,contre-amiral (rear admiral in English) ranks abovecommodore.
Counter admiral is the more direct translation of Finnishkontra-amiraali, atwo-star rank used in theFinnish Navy and theFinnish Border Guard. However, it is usually translated as rear admiral in international use.
In thenavies of Brazil and Angola the rank ofcontra-almirante is the lowest of the flag officer ranks. In thenavies of Portugal and Mozambique the rank ofcontra-almirante is the second lowest, above that ofcomodoro (commodore).
Until the end of the 19th century, the present rank ofcontra-almirante was namedchefe de esquadra (chief of squadron), both in the Portuguese and in the Brazilian navies.
^"counter-admiral".Oxford English Dictionary (Second ed.). 1989. Retrieved22 June 2011.The only known use of the nouncounter-admiral is in the late 1700s. OED's only evidence forcounter-admiral is from around 1789–96, in the writing ofJedidiah Morse, geographer and clergyman.counter-admiral is a borrowing from French. Etymons: Frenchcontre-amiral.
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