Meaning

noun a commissioned officer who has been promoted from enlisted status

noun an enlisted soldier who serves in the ranks of the armed forces

originEtymology tree English rank Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzijos Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English ranker From rank + -er (agent noun suffix).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0