Commander (order)

Commander (Italian: Commendatore; French: Commandeur; German: Komtur; Spanish: Comendador; Portuguese: Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders.

The title of Commander occurred in the medieval military orders, such as the Knights Hospitaller, for a member senior to a Knight. Variations include Knight Commander, notably in English, sometimes used to denote an even higher rank than Commander. In some orders of chivalry, Commander ranks above Officier (i.e. Officer), but below one or more ranks with a prefix meaning 'Great', e.g. Grand- in French, Grosskomtur in German, Gran Comendador (using an equivalent suffix) in Spanish, Grande Ufficiale in Italian, and Groot- in Dutch (Grootcommandeur, 'Grand Commander'), Grand Cross.