army ranks

M

mathman

Valued Senior Member
In the army, a major outranks a lieutenant, but a lieutenant general outranks a major general. How did this happen historically?
 
mathman said:
In the army, a major outranks a lieutenant, but a lieutenant general outranks a major general. How did this happen historically?
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Wiki speaketh thusly:
"
Major general (abbreviated MG,[1] Maj. Gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparently confusing phenomenon whereby a lieutenant general outranks a major general. (Although a major outranks a lieutenant, a lieutenant outranks a sergeant-major)."
 
mathman said:
In the army, a major outranks a lieutenant, but a lieutenant general outranks a major general. How did this happen historically?
Click to expand...
Lieutenant is less than Major. If you subtract a Lieutenant from a full General, you have a bigger General remaining than if you subtract a Major. :)
 
sideshowbob said:
Lieutenant is less than Major. If you subtract a Lieutenant from a full General, you have a bigger General remaining than if you subtract a Major. :)
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Is that how "leftenants" were invented?

By the transitive property, if you subtract Major from full General, you are ... left tenant?
 
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