Subaltern

By Deane Barker

Definition: a person who is lower in position or rank; a subordinate

Why I Looked It Up

This came up a couple times in a book about World War 1, always in the context of British military officers. I dismissed it as a British-ism, but then found it again in a book about American history.

Jackson subaltern Sam Houston, the first elected president of Texas..

Houston served under General Jackson in the War of 1812.

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