Lieutenant is French in origin - (en) lieu tenant - and means holding a place or position for someone else, e.g. lieutenant-governor, acting for a governor. The Americans pronunciation 'loo-tenant' is closest to the French though our obsolescent naval pronunciation 'le-tenant' is close, whereas the army's 'LEF-tenant' seems a corruption of the worst sort. Lieutenants with over eight years in that rank were considered as a separate rank after 1877, the year the 'half-stripe' was introduced. Before World War I a lieutenant who held a command was called lieutenant and commander; in 1912 this was officially abbreviated to lieutenant-commander. In most branches promotion to this rank is automatic after eight years as a lieutenant, though regulations now provide for future promotions to that rank to be by selection.