Cornet (rank)
Cornet is a military rank formerly used by the armed forces of some countries.
Etymology[edit]
A cornet or "cornet of horse" was in the 17th and 18th century a term for a group of cavalry (typically 100–300 men), so-called because it was accompanied by a cornet player (a trumpet-like instrument, from Old French cornet (14c.), Latin cornū, "horn").[1] Later "cornet" came to refer to the fifth commissioned officer in a cavalry troop, who carried the colours; it never referred to the cornet player himself.[2][3] An alternative etymology claims that the term is derived from a cornette, a woman's headdress, with a strip of lace hanging down from a headdress against the cheeks; later it referred to the pennon of a cavalry troop.[4][5]
By country[edit]
Denmark[edit]
By 1717, the ranks of Fendrich and Cornet of the Royal Life Guards were officer ranks placed in the Eight class in the Danish order of precedence, normal Fendrichs and Cornets were placed in the Ninth class.[6] The rank was reintroduced in 1910–1951 as an enlisted rank.[7]
The Netherlands[edit]
The rank Kornet in the Dutch armed forces is used for last year (most senior) officer cadets who pursue a career in the Royal Marechaussee (gendarmerie/policing), or in the cavalry and artillery branches of the Royal Netherlands Army. Cadets of the same seniority in other branches of the Army or in the Royal Netherlands Air Force are designated the rank Vaandrig and those with the Royal Netherlands Navy Adelborst.