captain

US /ˈkæp.tən/ UK /ˈkæp.tɪn/ See IPA manual

Freq #536

Meanings

1

noun
The person in charge of a ship or aircraft.

The captain told the passengers to fasten their seatbelts.
2

noun
The player chosen to lead a sports team.

As captain, she encouraged her teammates before the match.
3

noun
An army officer ranking above a lieutenant and below a major.

The captain ordered his soldiers to set up camp.
4

verb
To be the leader of a team.

He captained the national team for five years.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms captainedcaptainingcaptains

Derived forms captain-generalcaptaincycaptainesscaptainishcaptainlesscaptainlikecaptainlycaptainshipcocaptainpost-captainsubcaptainundercaptain

Related forms cap capital capitalism capitulate capitulation chapiter chapter chief chieftain

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.

*kap- Proto-Indo-European capitain Middle English capitaine Old French capitāneus la-lat caput Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction Transportation

External links

# captain

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkæp.tən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkæp.tɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 536

## Meanings
1. The person in charge of a ship or aircraft.
2. The player chosen to lead a sports team.
3. An army officer ranking above a lieutenant and below a major.
4. To be the leader of a team.

## Examples
- The captain told the passengers to fasten their seatbelts.
- As captain, she encouraged her teammates before the match.
- The captain ordered his soldiers to set up camp.
- He captained the national team for five years.

## Derived Forms
- captain-general
- captaincy
- captainess
- captainish
- captainless
- captainlike
- captainly
- captainship
- cocaptain
- post-captain
- subcaptain
- undercaptain

## Related Forms
- cap
- capital
- capitalism
- capitulate
- capitulation
- chapiter
- chapter
- chief
- chieftain

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kap-
- Root: capitain
- Root: capitaine
- Root: capitāneus
- Root: caput

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Captain comes 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.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Transportation

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captain

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