page_title: Warrant officer
section_title: Warrant officers in context
hierarchical_section_title: Warrant officer / Origins in the Royal Navy / Rank and status in the 18th century / Warrant officers in context
caption_attribution_description: English: Relative ranks of the Navy, c1810.
context_page_description: Warrant officer is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the service or historical context, some WOs are classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the most senior of the NCO ranks or in a separate category of their own. However, warrant officer ranks are always senior to non-commissioned officer ranks and subordinate to commissioned officer ranks. WO ranks are especially prominent in the militaries of Commonwealth nations and the United States.
  The name of the rank originated in medieval England. It was first used during the 13th century, in the Royal Navy, where Warrant Officers achieved the designation by virtue of their accrued experience or seniority, and technically held the rank by a warrant – rather than by the requirements of a formal commission. Nevertheless, WOs in the British services have traditionally been considered and treated as distinct from non-commissioned officers, as such.
  Warrant officers in the United States are classified in rank category "W", which is distinct from "O" and "E".
context_section_description: By the end of the century, the rank structure could be illustrated as follows (the warrant officers are underlined):
caption: Relative ranks in the Royal Navy, c. 1810. Warrant officers are underlined in the chart.[5]
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