captain
pronunciation
How to pronounce captain in British English:
UK [ˈkæptɪn]
How to pronounce captain in American English:
US [ˈkæptɪn]
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- Noun:
- an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
- the naval officer in command of a military ship
- a policeman in charge of a precinct
- an officer who is licensed to command a merchant ship
- the leader of a group of people
- the pilot ins charge of an airship
- a diningroom attendant who is in charge of the waiters and the seating of customers
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- Verb:
- be the captain of a sports team
Word Origin
- captain
- captain: [14] Etymologically, a captain is someone who is at the ‘head’ of an organization, team, etc. It derives ultimately from late Latin capitāneus ‘chief’, a derivative of caput ‘head’, which came to English via Old French capitain. A parallel but earlier formation was chieftain, which also came from late Latin capitāneus, but along a different route, by way of Old French chevetaine.=> chieftain
- captain (n.)
- late 14c., capitayn, "a leader, chief, one who stands at the head of others," from Old French capitaine "captain, leader," from Late Latin capitaneus "chief," noun use of adjective capitaneus "prominent, chief," from Latin caput (genitive capitis) "head" (see capitulum). Military sense of "officer who commands a company" (rank between major and lieutenant) is from 1560s; naval sense of "officer who commands a man-of-war" is from 1550s, extended to "master or commander of a vessel of any kind" by 1704. Sporting sense is first recorded 1823.
- captain (v.)
- 1590s, from captain (n.). Related: Captained; captaining.
Example
- 1. He had gone with that captain mike .
- 2. A battling performance by the stoke captain .
- 3. Correspondent captain desmond bailey led the close-in security team .
- 4. Captain mcclaren frowned despite himself .
- 5. The captain was later diagnosed with sleep apnoea .