'Captain' definitions:

Definition of 'captain'

(from WordNet)
noun
An officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
noun
The naval officer in command of a military ship [syn: captain, skipper]
noun
A policeman in charge of a precinct [syn: captain, police captain, police chief]
noun
An officer who is licensed to command a merchant ship [syn: master, captain, sea captain, skipper]
noun
The leader of a group of people; "a captain of industry" [syn: captain, chieftain]
noun
The pilot in charge of an airship [syn: captain, senior pilot]
noun
A dining-room attendant who is in charge of the waiters and the seating of customers [syn: captain, headwaiter, maitre d'hotel, maitre d']
verb
Be the captain of a sports team

Definition of 'Captain'

From: GCIDE
  • 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]

Definition of 'Captain'

From: GCIDE
  • Captain \Cap"tain\, v. t. To act as captain of; to lead. [R.] [1913 Webster]
  • Men who captained or accompanied the exodus from existing forms. --Lowell. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Captain'

From: GCIDE
  • Captain \Cap"tain\, a. Chief; superior. [R.] [1913 Webster]
  • captain jewes in the carcanet. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'captain'

From: GCIDE
  • Master \Mas"ter\ (m[.a]s"t[~e]r), n. [OE. maistre, maister, OF. maistre, mestre, F. ma[^i]tre, fr. L. magister, orig. a double comparative from the root of magnus great, akin to Gr. me`gas. Cf. Maestro, Magister, Magistrate, Magnitude, Major, Mister, Mistress, Mickle.]
  • 1. A male person having another living being so far subject to his will, that he can, in the main, control his or its actions; -- formerly used with much more extensive application than now. (a) The employer of a servant. (b) The owner of a slave. (c) The person to whom an apprentice is articled. (d) A sovereign, prince, or feudal noble; a chief, or one exercising similar authority. (e) The head of a household. (f) The male head of a school or college. (g) A male teacher. (h) The director of a number of persons performing a ceremony or sharing a feast. (i) The owner of a docile brute, -- especially a dog or horse. (j) The controller of a familiar spirit or other supernatural being. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. One who uses, or controls at will, anything inanimate; as, to be master of one's time. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Master of a hundred thousand drachms. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
  • We are masters of the sea. --Jowett (Thucyd.). [1913 Webster]
  • 3. One who has attained great skill in the use or application of anything; as, a master of oratorical art. [1913 Webster]
  • Great masters of ridicule. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
  • No care is taken to improve young men in their own language, that they may thoroughly understand and be masters of it. --Locke. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. A title given by courtesy, now commonly pronounced m[i^]ster, except when given to boys; -- sometimes written Mister, but usually abbreviated to Mr. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. A young gentleman; a lad, or small boy. [1913 Webster]
  • Where there are little masters and misses in a house, they are impediments to the diversions of the servants. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. (Naut.) The commander of a merchant vessel; -- usually called captain. Also, a commissioned officer in the navy ranking next above ensign and below lieutenant; formerly, an officer on a man-of-war who had immediate charge, under the commander, of sailing the vessel. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. A person holding an office of authority among the Freemasons, esp. the presiding officer; also, a person holding a similar office in other civic societies. [1913 Webster]
  • Little masters, certain German engravers of the 16th century, so called from the extreme smallness of their prints.
  • Master in chancery, an officer of courts of equity, who acts as an assistant to the chancellor or judge, by inquiring into various matters referred to him, and reporting thereon to the court.
  • Master of arts, one who takes the second degree at a university; also, the degree or title itself, indicated by the abbreviation M. A., or A. M.
  • Master of the horse, the third great officer in the British court, having the management of the royal stables, etc. In ceremonial cavalcades he rides next to the sovereign.
  • Master of the rolls, in England, an officer who has charge of the rolls and patents that pass the great seal, and of the records of the chancery, and acts as assistant judge of the court. --Bouvier. --Wharton.
  • Past master, (a) one who has held the office of master in a lodge of Freemasons or in a society similarly organized. (b) a person who is unusually expert, skilled, or experienced in some art, technique, or profession; -- usually used with at or of.
  • The old masters, distinguished painters who preceded modern painters; especially, the celebrated painters of the 16th and 17th centuries.
  • To be master of one's self, to have entire self-control; not to be governed by passion.
  • To be one's own master, to be at liberty to act as one chooses without dictation from anybody. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: Master, signifying chief, principal, masterly, superior, thoroughly skilled, etc., is often used adjectively or in compounds; as, master builder or master-builder, master chord or master-chord, master mason or master-mason, master workman or master-workman, master mechanic, master mind, master spirit, master passion, etc. [1913 Webster]
  • Throughout the city by the master gate. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • Master joint (Geol.), a quarryman's term for the more prominent and extended joints traversing a rock mass.
  • Master key, a key adapted to open several locks differing somewhat from each other; figuratively, a rule or principle of general application in solving difficulties.
  • Master lode (Mining), the principal vein of ore.
  • Master mariner, an experienced and skilled seaman who is certified to be competent to command a merchant vessel.
  • Master sinew (Far.), a large sinew that surrounds the hough of a horse, and divides it from the bone by a hollow place, where the windgalls are usually seated.
  • Master singer. See Mastersinger.
  • Master stroke, a capital performance; a masterly achievement; a consummate action; as, a master stroke of policy.
  • Master tap (Mech.), a tap for forming the thread in a screw cutting die.
  • Master touch. (a) The touch or skill of a master. --Pope. (b) Some part of a performance which exhibits very skillful work or treatment. "Some master touches of this admirable piece." --Tatler.
  • Master work, the most important work accomplished by a skilled person, as in architecture, literature, etc.; also, a work which shows the skill of a master; a masterpiece.
  • Master workman, a man specially skilled in any art, handicraft, or trade, or who is an overseer, foreman, or employer. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'captain'

From: Easton
  • Captain
  • Heb. sar (1 Sam. 22:2; 2 Sam. 23:19). Rendered "chief," Gen. 40:2; 41:9; rendered also "prince," Dan. 1:7; "ruler," Judg. 9:30; "governor,' 1 Kings 22:26. This same Hebrew word denotes a military captain (Ex. 18:21; 2 Kings 1:9; Deut. 1:15; 1 Sam. 18:13, etc.), the "captain of the body-guard" (Gen. 37:36; 39:1; 41:10; Jer. 40:1), or, as the word may be rendered, "chief of the executioners" (marg.). The officers of the king's body-guard frequently acted as executioners. Nebuzar-adan (Jer. 39:13) and Arioch (Dan. 2:14) held this office in Babylon.
  • The "captain of the guard" mentioned in Acts 28:16 was the Praetorian prefect, the commander of the Praetorian troops.
  • Another word (Heb. katsin) so translated denotes sometimes a military (Josh. 10:24; Judg. 11:6, 11; Isa. 22:3 "rulers;" Dan. 11:18) and sometimes a civil command, a judge, magistrate, Arab. _kady_, (Isa. 1:10; 3:6; Micah 3:1, 9).
  • It is also the rendering of a Hebrew word (shalish) meaning "a third man," or "one of three." The LXX. render in plural by _tristatai_; i.e., "soldiers fighting from chariots," so called because each war-chariot contained three men, one of whom acted as charioteer while the other two fought (Ex. 14:7; 15:4; 1 Kings 9:22; comp. 2 Kings 9:25). This word is used also to denote the king's body-guard (2 Kings 10:25; 1 Chr. 12:18; 2 Chr. 11:11) or aides-de-camp.
  • The "captain of the temple" mentioned in Acts 4:1 and 5:24 was not a military officer, but superintendent of the guard of priests and Levites who kept watch in the temple by night. (Comp. "the ruler of the house of God," 1 Chr. 9:11; 2 Chr. 31:13; Neh. 11:11.)
  • The Captain of our salvation is a name given to our Lord (Heb. 2:10), because he is the author and source of our salvation, the head of his people, whom he is conducting to glory. The "captain of the Lord's host" (Josh. 5:14, 15) is the name given to that mysterious person who manifested himself to Abraham (Gen. 12:7), and to Moses in the bush (Ex. 3:2, 6, etc.) the Angel of the covenant. (See ANGEL.)

Synonyms of 'captain'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Captain'