- Captain
- Captain Cap"tain (k[a^]p"t[i^]n), n. [OE. capitain, captain,
OF. capitain, F. capitaine (cf. Sp. capitan, It. capitano),
LL. capitaneus, capitanus, fr. L. caput the head. See under
{Chief}, and cf. {Chieftain}.]
1. A head, or chief officer; as:
(a) The military officer who commands a company, troop, or
battery, or who has the rank entitling him to do so
though he may be employed on other service.
(b) An officer in the United States navy, next above a
commander and below a commodore, and ranking with a
colonel in the army.
(c) By courtesy, an officer actually commanding a vessel,
although not having the rank of captain.
(d) The master or commanding officer of a merchant vessel.
(e) One in charge of a portion of a ship's company; as, a
captain of a top, captain of a gun, etc.
(f) The foreman of a body of workmen.
(g) A person having authority over others acting in
concert; as, the captain of a boat's crew; the captain
of a football team.
[1913 Webster]
A trainband captain eke was he. --Cowper. [1913 Webster]
The Rhodian captain, relying on . . . the lightness of his vessel, passed, in open day, through all the guards. --Arbuthnot. [1913 Webster]
2. A military leader; a warrior. [1913 Webster]
Foremost captain of his time. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
{Captain general}. (a) The commander in chief of an army or armies, or of the militia. (b) The Spanish governor of Cuba and its dependent islands.
{Captain lieutenant}, a lieutenant with the rank and duties of captain but with a lieutenant's pay, -- as in the first company of an English regiment. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
