senior: [14] Senior was borrowed direct from Latin senior, which was the comparative form of senex ‘old’. This in turn was descended from the Indo-European base *sen-, which also produced Welsh hen, Gothic sineigs, Lithuanian senas, and Armenian hin, all meaning ‘old’. English is also indebted to senex for senate and senile [17], while senior has contributed sir and the whole range of Romance terms of address, including monsieur, sennor, and signor. => senate, senior, sir
senior (adj.)
late 13c., from Latin senior "older," comparative of senex (genitive senis) "old," from PIE root *sen- "old" (see senile). Original use in English was as an addition to a personal name indicating "the father" when father and son had the same name; meaning "higher in rank, longer in service" first recorded 1510s.
The Latin word yielded titles of respect in many languages, such as French sire, Spanish se?or, Portuguese senhor, Italian signor. Senior citizen first recorded 1938, American English.
senior (n.)
mid-14c., "person of authority;" late 14c., "person older than another," from senior (adj.). Sense of "fourth-year student" is from 1741, from earlier general sense of "advanced student" (1610s).
例文
1. All senior officers involved in the coup will have to be removed.
クーデターに関与したすべての高官が解任される。
2. Senior officers could be considering a coup to restore authoritarian rule.
高官たちはクーデターを画策して独裁統治を復活させるかもしれない。
3.Williams felt himself to be senior to all of them.
ウィリアムズは自分が他のすべての人よりも資格が古いと思っている。
4. Senior politicians met today to discuss the future of European economic unity.
上級政府は今日会合し、欧州経済統合の未来を検討する。
5.A senior White House official said the agreement is close.