Captain
Captain (kap"tin) , noun
[Old English capitain, captain, Old French capitain, French capitaine (compare Sp. capitan, Italian capitano), Late Latin capitaneus, capitanus, from Latin caput the head. See under Chief, and compare Chieftain.]
1.
A head, or chief officer
(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.
A trainband captain eke was he.
The Rhodian captain, relying on... the lightness of his vessel, passed, in open day, through all the guards.
2.
A military leader; a warrior.
Foremost captain of his time.
Collocations (2)
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.
Captain , transitive verb
To act as captain of; to lead. [Rare]
Men who captained or accompanied the exodus from existing forms.
Captain , adjective
Chief; superior. [Rare]
captain jewes in the carcanet.