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) The army rank of captain (from the French ) is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to the command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces, but usually refers to a more senior offi ...

, 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) Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navy, navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide in ...

, a commissioned officer rank in the navy, corresponding to the rank of Army colonel, Air force colonel. *

Captain (nautical) A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, in ...

, 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 The pilot in command (PIC) of an aircraft is the person aboard an aircraft who is ultimately responsible for its operation and safety during flight. This would be the captain in a typical two- or three- pilot aircrew, or "pilot" if there is only ...

colloquially said PIC. * Fire captain, officer in a fire department. * Police captain, officer in a police organization. *

Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

, a senior commissioned rank in many air forces. *

Captain of industry In the 19th century, a captain of industry was a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributed positively to the country in some way. This may have been through increased productivity, expansion of markets, providing more ...

, 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 A donatary captain was a Portuguese colonial official to whom the Crown granted jurisdiction, rights and revenues over some colonial territory. The recipient of these grants was called a (donatary), because he had been given the grant as a (donat ...

, colonial officer of a Portuguese possession. *

Captain-commandant ''Captain-commandant'' is a rank currently used in the Belgian Armed Forces and formerly used in the United States Revenue Cutter Service and its successor, the United States Coast Guard. Belgium Captain-commandant (; ; ) is a junior officer o ...

, a Belgian military rank. *

Katepano The ''katepánō'' (, ) was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as ''capetanus/catepan'', and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the Italian "capitaneus" (which derives from the Latin word "caput", mean ...

, a senior Byzantine officer (and word from which "captain" derived). *

Kapudan Pasha The Kapudan Pasha (, modern Turkish: ), also known as the (, modern: , "Captain of the Sea") was the grand admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Typically, he was based at Galata and Gallipoli during the winter and charged with annual sailings durin ...

Kapitan Cina Kapitan Cina, also spelled Kapitan China or Capitan China or Capitan Chino (; ; ; ), was a high-ranking government position in the civil administration of colonial Indonesia, Malaya, Singapore, Borneo and the Philippines. Office holders exercis ...

Captal Captal (Lat. capitalis, first, chief ), was a medieval feudal title in Gascony. According to Du Cange the designation was applied loosely to the more illustrious nobles of Aquitaine, counts, viscounts, etc., probably as ''capitales domini'', p ...

, a regional title in

Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

Military ranks

Canada

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

Germany

Kapitän Kapitän () is the German word for Captain. It is also a shortened version of several ranks in the German navy, ranging from Korvettenkapitän (; ) is the lowest ranking Field officer, senior officer in the German navy. Germany Korvettenk ...

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) Group Captain is a rank in the Indian Air Force. Group Captain ranks above the rank of Wing commander and lower than an Air Commodore. It is equivalent to colonel in the Indian Army and captain in the Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO ...

* Captain (Indian Army)

Israel

* Seren, an

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

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 The South African Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Servi ...

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) Captain (Capt.) is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above commander and below commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a colonel in the British Army and Royal Marines, and to a group captain in ...

, 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 *

(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) In the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS Corps), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps), captain is the senior-mo ...

(US Navy, US Public Health Service, or Coast Guard)

Generic

Captain at sea Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

* 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