/ kəˈmɑːndə(r); NAmE -ˈmæn-/ noun
1.
a person who is in charge of sth, especially an officer in charge of a particular group of soldiers or a military operation :
military / allied / field / flight commanders
the commander of the expedition
2.
( abbr. Cdr ) an officer of fairly high rank in the British or American navy
3.
( abbr. Cdr ) (in Britain) a London police officer of high rank
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French comandeor , from late Latin commandare to command, from com- (expressing intensive force) + mandare commit, command.