captain

A2 Topic:People & Society

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.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms captainedcaptainingcaptains

Derived forms captain-generalcaptaincycaptainesscaptainishcaptainlesscaptainlikecaptainlycaptainshipcocaptainpost-captainsubcaptainundercaptain

Related forms cap capital capitalism capitulate capitulation chapiter chapter chief chieftain

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

sea captain
an officer qualified to command a merchant ship

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Captain dates from the late Middle English period and ultimately derives from Latin caput, “head.” Like chief, it denotes the “head” of a group of people.

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

People & Society Maritime & Sailing

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
- People & Society
- Maritime & Sailing

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