What does "captain" mean?
Captain: A military leader; a warrior. Foremost captain of his time. Tennyson. 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.
Additional senses
- 2.To act as captain of; to lead. [R.] Men who captained or accompanied the exodus from existing forms. Lowell.
- 3.Chief; superior. [R.] captain jewes in the carcanet. Shak.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00