état-major

From état (“group, college”) +‎ major (“main, principal”).

• IPA^(key): /e.ta.ma.ʒɔʁ/

état-major m (plural états-majors)

1. (military) general staff, high command, headquarters (group of officers in charge of an army under the control of the commander-in-chief)
2. (military) headquarters (military installation from which troops are commanded and orders are issued)
3. (politics) administrative staff (body of staff that administers a political party)
4. (business) senior management (group of people in charge of a corporation)
5. (informal, by extension) any administrative body aimed at aiding a professional or academic in their work

• quartier général

• “état-major”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.