captain
Meanings
noun
- A chief or leader.
- The person lawfully in command of a ship or other vessel.
- An army officer with a rank between the most senior grade of lieutenant and major.
- A naval officer with a rank between commander and commodore.
- A commissioned officer in the United States Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA Corps, or PHS Corps of a grade superior to a commander and junior to a rear admiral (lower half). A captain is equal in grade or rank to a United States Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force colonel.
- A rank qualifying an airline pilot to act as pilot in command of a two-pilot flight crew.
- One of the athletes on a sports team who is designated to make decisions, and is allowed to speak for his team with a referee or official.
- The leader of a group of workers.
- The head boy of a school.
- A maître d', a headwaiter.
- An honorific title given to a prominent person. See colonel.
verb
- To act as captain
- To exercise command of a ship, aircraft or sports team.
noun
- The honorific of a captain, especially a ship's captain or a person with the military rank of captain.
- Forms a title for a superhero seen as embodying or possessing in high degree the qualities associated with the ensuing phrase
- Forms a title or nickname for a person; typically a nonce coinage
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Middle English capitain, capteyn, from Old French capitaine, from Late Latin capitāneus, from Latin caput (“head”) (English cap). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-. Doublet of chieftain, also from Old French.
Synonyms
Related words
Derived words
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