generalissimo
/ˌdʒɛn(ə)rəˈlɪsɪməʊ
/noun (plural generalissimos)
The commander of a combined military force consisting of army, navy, and air force units.On 1 November of that same year he was elected head of state of Nationalist Spain and generalissimo of its armies, but General Franco's rebel regime needed three long years of civil war to gain control of the whole nation....
- Hitler wanted to be the Feldherr, the generalissimo, exercising direct control of the armies himself, in much the same sense that Wellington commanded at Waterloo, albeit at a distance.
- The old generalissimo would not recognise his country in the 21st century: gone is the xenophobia and the heavy hand of a police state.
Origin
Early 17th century: Italian, 'having greatest authority', superlative of generale (see general).