In many European languages, the term Major is a military rank, implying seniority at one of usually various levels of rank. For example:

• "General-Major" or "Major-General", denoting a senior ranking general officer.
• "Captain-Major", denoting a mid-level command status officer (immediately superior to the rank of a land-forces Captain but immediately subordinate to the ranks of Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel.
• "Sergeant-Major" denotes the most senior sergeant of a large military unit.

In the US Army and US Marine Corps, a Major is typically a staff officer, either a battalion Executive Officer (XO) (second in command), or a battalion staff officer such as the Operations Officer (S-3).

Most often, when the term 'major' occurs unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of a land-forces 'captain'. In some countries, notably in France, an unhyphenated "major" derives from "sergeant-major", a senior-level sub-officer rank.

Links to Major ranks by country

• Major (Albania)
• Major (Australia)
• Major/Majoor (Belgium)
• Major
• Major
• Major (Estonia)
• Majuri
• Major
• Őrnagy (Hungary)
• Major (Iceland)
• Maggiore (Italy)
• Majors
• Majoras
• Major (Luxembourg)
• Majoor
• Major (Nigeria)
• Major (Norway)
• Major

• Major
• Major
• Major
• Major

Army Major insignia

File:Australian-Army-MAJ.gif|AustraliaFile:BE-Army-OF3.gif|BelgiumFile:CA-Army-OF3.gif|Canada

File:ES-Army-OF3.gif|EstoniaFile:OF03 Heer.png|GermanyFile:IFRmajor.PNG|IcelandFile:IT-Army-OF3.svg|Italy

File:LT-Army-OF3.jpg|LithuaniaFile:Nl-landmacht-majoor.svg|NetherlandsFile:POL-Army-OF3.gif|PolandImage:SL-Army-OF3_Major.PNG‎|Sri Lanka

File:US-O4 insignia.svg|U.S.File:Major.gif|USSR

Air Force Major insignia

File:BE-Air Force-OF3.gif|Belgium

File:RDAF Maj.svg|DenmarkFile:RNAF Maj.svg|NetherlandsFile:Major Lotnicze.png|PolandFile:US Air Force O4 shoulderboard.svg|U.S.

Links to ranks equivalent to Major by country

• Jagran (جګړن) (Afghanistan)
• 少校 (Shaoxiao) (PR China)
• Bojnik
• Ra'Ed (راىد) (Egypt and most Arab League member countries)
• Commandant
• Tagmatarchis (Ταγματάρχης) (Greece)
• Commandant (Ireland)
• Rav seren (רב סרן) (Israel)
• Shousa (Japan)
• 소좌 (North Korea)
• 소령 (South Korea)
• Mejar (Malaysia)
• Sturmbannführer (Schutzstaffel and paramilitary organisations of Nazi Germany)
• Comandante (Spain)
• Binbaşı (Turkey)
• Thiếu Tá (Vietnam)

File:Bojnik.jpg|Croatia (Bojnik)

File:TR-Army-OF3.gif|Turkey (Binbaşı)

See also

• Comparative military ranks

References

External links

• Etymology on line