Etymology
The word lieutenant derives from French; the lieu meaning "in place" as in a position (cf. in lieu of); and tenant meaning "holding" as in "holding a position"; thus a "lieutenant" is somebody who holds a position in the absence of his or her superior (compare the Latin locum tenens). Similar words in other languages include the Arabic mulāzim (Arabic: ملازم

), meaning "holding a place", and the Hebrew word segen (Hebrew: סגן

), meaning "deputy" or "second to".
In the nineteenth century, British writers who either considered this word an imposition on the English language, or difficult for common soldiers and sailors, argued for it to be replaced by the calque "steadholder." However, their efforts failed, and the French word is still used, along with its many variations, (e.g. Lieutenant Colonel, Lieutenant General, Lieutenant Commander, Flight Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant and many non-English-language examples), in both the Old and the New World.
[edit] Pronunciation
Pronunciation of lieutenant is generally split between the forms lef-tenant (/lɛfˈtɛnənt/) and loo-tenant (/ljuːˈtɛnənt/ or /luːˈtɛnənt/ ( listen)), with the former generally associated with the United Kingdom, Ireland and Commonwealth countries, and the latter generally associated with the United States.[1] The earlier history of the pronunciation is unclear; Middle English spellings suggest that the /l(j)uː-/ and /lɛf-/ pronunciations existed even then.[2] The rare Old French variant spelling luef for Modern French lieu ('place') supports the suggestion that a final [w] of the Old French word was in certain environments perceived as an [f].[2]
In Royal Naval tradition and other English-speaking navies outside the United States the intermediate pronunciation /ləˈtɛnənt/ was preserved. This is not recognized as current by the OED, however, and by 1954 the Royal Canadian Navy, at least, regarded it as "obsolescent" even while regarding "the army's 'LEF-tenant'" to be "a corruption of the worst sort".[3]