Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, etc. In militaries, the captain is typically at the level of an officer commanding a company or battalion of infantry, a ship, or a battery of artillery, or another distinct unit. It can also be a rank of command in an air force. The term also may be used as an informal or honorary title for persons in similar commanding roles.

Etymology

The word "captain" derives from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

"capitane", itself coming from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

"caput", meaning "head". It is considered cognate with the Greek word (, , or "the topmost"), which was used as title for a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as . Both ultimately derive from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

"*kaput", also meaning head.

Occupations or roles

* Captain (armed forces), a commissioned officer rank corresponding to the field commander of a company of soldiers usually, or that of a battery of an artillery battalion (company second-in-command or specialist platoon commander in UK). It is also a rank of command in the air force. * Captain (naval), a commissioned officer rank in the navy, corresponding to the rank of Army colonel, Air force colonel. * Captain (nautical), a licensed person or civilian marine officer who is legally in command of a merchant ship, a yacht or another type of vessel that may or may not be carrying passengers for hire; corresponds to the work condition of shipmaster or, as usually said, master. * Captain (airlines), a licensed civilian airman or person who is legally in command of a civilian aircraft; corresponding to the work condition of pilot in command colloquially said PIC. * Fire captain, officer in a fire department. * Police captain, officer in a police organization. * Group Captain, a senior commissioned rank in many air forces. * Captain of industry, business leader. * Captain of the Port, harbour (UK) or Coast Guard (USA) post. * Precinct captain, political party's representative at an election precinct. * Barangay captain, Head of Barangay (Village) in the Philippines * School captain, student elected or appointed to represent the school. * Captain Regent, head of state of

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

. * Captain-major, colonial officer of a Portuguese possession. * Captain-commandant, a Belgian military rank. * Katepano, a senior Byzantine officer (and word from which "captain" derived). * Kapudan Pasha * Kapitan Cina * Captal, a regional title in Southern France.

Military ranks

Canada

* Captain (Canadian naval rank) * Captain (Canadian army and air force)

Germany

* Kapitän bzw. „Kapitän zur See“ (Deutsche Marine), Nato OF-5 grade * Hauptmann, the german equivalent of Captain in Army (Armee/Heer) and Air Force (Luftwaffe)

India

* Captain (Indian Navy) * Group captain (India) * Captain (Indian Army)

Israel

* Seren, an Israel Defense Forces officer rank whether Army, Air Force, or Navy

South Africa

* Captain is a South African National Defence Force officer rank of the South African Army,

South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

, South African Navy, South African Military Health Service

United Kingdom

* Captain (Royal Navy), NATO OF-5 grade *

Captain (British Army and Royal Marines) Captain (Capt) is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines and in both services it ranks above Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines), lieutenant and below Major (United Kingdom), major with a NATO ranking code of OF-2. ...

, NATO OF-2 grade * Group Captain (Royal Air Force), NATO OF-5 grade

United States

* Captain (United States) * Captain (United States O-3) (US Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, or Space Force) * Captain (United States O-6) (US Navy, US Public Health Service, or Coast Guard)

Generic

* Captain (naval) * Captain at sea * Captain of sea and war * Other captain grades ** Ship-of-the-line captain ** Senior Captain ** Staff captain

References

{{Set index article Military command staff occupations Military ranks Naval ranks Police ranks Former disambiguation pages converted to set index articles