What does brevetting mean?
Brevetting is the practice — chiefly historical and military — of conferring on an officer a nominal rank higher than the one they actually hold, without granting its pay or command privileges. The word is the present participle of 'brevet,' which entered English from French and ultimately traces to the Latin 'brevis,' meaning short. In the nineteenth-century United States Army, brevetting was widespread: officers could hold two ranks simultaneously, being addressed and saluted by their honorary title while remaining on the payroll of their substantive grade. It served as a reward for gallantry or meritorious service when formal promotion was slow or politically constrained, but it also bred friction, since brevet generals might outrank their commanding officers only on paper. Today the term survives almost entirely in histories of the Civil War era and in discussions of army tradition.
verb (present participle of brevet)The act of promoting a military officer to a higher temporary rank without the corresponding pay, typically as recognition of distinguished service.
- Present participle of 'brevet': conferring a nominal military rank on an officer without the corresponding pay or permanent command authority.
"The general was renowned for brevetting young officers who showed courage under fire."
"After the battle of Chapultepec, Congress was brevetting numerous officers for gallantry in the field."
"He spent years as a lieutenant colonel while the War Department was quietly brevetting him a full colonel in recognition of his frontier service."
In the 19th-century US Army you could be called 'General' and saluted as one — yet still collect a captain's paycheck, all thanks to a little Latin word meaning 'short.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of brevetting
Brevetting derives from 'brevet,' borrowed from French, where it meant a written warrant or official letter — itself from the Latin 'brevis' (short), via the notion of a brief document. English adopted 'brevet' as both a noun and a verb in the seventeenth century, initially for royal warrants granting commissions or honors. By the eighteenth century it had narrowed to the specific military sense of conferring honorary rank, a usage especially prominent in the British and American armies through the nineteenth century. Cognates sharing the same Latin root include brevity, abbreviate, and breviary.
Related word forms
How brevetting is actually used
Almost exclusively found in historical contexts concerning 18th- and 19th-century armies, especially the United States Army before 1870 and the British Army. In American spelling the verb often appears as 'breveting' with a single 't'; British usage prefers the double-t form 'brevetting.' The practice carried prestige but no extra salary, so it was sometimes resented by officers who held substantive rank.
Easily confused with brevetting
Bravado means ostentatious boldness; brevetting is the formal military practice of conferring honorary rank.