991: Pronunciation of Lieutenant Aug 26, 2017

Depending upon whether you pronounce words as people do in the United States or in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth you would pronounce the word 'lieutenant' as either /luːˈtɛnənʔ/ (as if it began with 'lieu' by itself) or as /lɛfˈtɛnənʔ/  (as if it became with 'left'). The first element 'lieu' has the same Old French origin as 'lieu' when it appears on its own, as in "in lieu of", except in that case both groups would pronounce it the same way, phonologically anyway. As for the difference in the way that 'lieutenant' is pronounced, no one is quite sure the cause, but generally it is thought that the /lɛf-/ is from a variation in Old French or Middle English, as spellings indicate that there was a rare form or the word that was in Old French 'leuf'. Another, less likely explanation is that there was confusion concerning the spelling of the word with a U or a V, as for a long period—due to standards from Latin—these letters were indistinguishable. It's possible that none of that matters too much, however, as in certain naval traditions, such as that of the Royal Navy, the pronunciation is simplified to /ləˈtɛnənt/ (as in what the 'lu-' represents in 'lung').