Paul in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has long been mystified by the title commander in chief. Why, he wonders, isn’t it commander and chief? The title commander in chief is a vestige of French military titles, specifically the construction en chef, which denotes the top officer of a group of similar officers. The same construction appears in the title editor in chief, which is the top editor of a group of similar editors. The French term, in turn, goes back to Latin caput, or “head,” and is a relative of capital. This is part of a complete episode.
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Apparently this came up in an old episode but my NPR station just broadcast it.
It’s interesting — you analyze this query with etymology, whereas my mind first goes to history or constitutional law. Commander-in-chief is the term used in the Constitution. That’s why we are accustomed to hearing C-I-C and not Commander-and-chief.
Similarly, the claim that use of the word “surprise” is never negative immediately prompted a counter-example: the Japanese “surprise attack” on Pearl Harbor. But the hosts’ reference to a big data corpora of American English usage was a revelation. Ihad never heard of that.
I enjoy the show.